


Transformers: Mobian Chronicles (Arc 1: Settling In)

by Canso99



Series: Transformers: Mobian Chronicles [1]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types, Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:01:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24049342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canso99/pseuds/Canso99
Summary: It is the year 4015. Earth has become Mobius. Sonic and his friends are visited by Optimus Prime of Cybertron, the youngest bot to take up the mantle as the leader of the Autonomous Robotic Organisms of Cybertron, the Autobots. Opening the floodgates for Eggman to study the Transformers, Optimus and his Autobots work with Sonic to stop Eggman's schemes!
Series: Transformers: Mobian Chronicles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1734937
Kudos: 1
Collections: Sonic Fanfics





	1. Chapter 1

A young, male, anthropomorphic, two tailed fox was looking intently at a monitor. He had his best friend and said friend’s self-proclaimed girlfriend record a meteor shower that happened the night before. He was reviewing the footage over a communications channel with a white furred, female, anthropomorphic bat in a black jumpsuit with a pink heart breast plate, a black furred with red highlights, anthropomorphic, male hedgehog, and a giant robot with the Greek letter Omega on its shoulder. “Tails, sweetie,” muttered Rouge the bat, “I don’t exactly understand what the meteor shower has to do with G.U.N.”

“Look at the first five,” urged Tails as he rewound the footage to the moment the first five meteors came into view. He magnified and enhanced the image. “The markings on it seem too smooth to look like natural erosion. It almost looks like writing.”

“It’s not the Black Arms alphabet, I know that much,” growled Shadow the hedgehog.

“Will it prove a hazard to the planet?” asked E123 Omega.

“I’m not sure,” replied Tails, “but I think G.U.N. should be prepared in case the peace we’ve been having goes south.”

“We’ll have our top scientists working on the meteor crash sites,” assured Shadow, “we’ll keep you posted.”

“Thanks, Shadow,” bid Tails. He terminated the call. As he did, he noticed his eyes drooping. “Oh, sweet Chaos,” he thought, “I didn’t get enough sleep. I better turn in.” He switched off his equipment.

* * *

On Angel Island, Knuckles was looking at the five meteors that landed. They were cone shaped with half a sphere at the base. The semi sphere bit was in the ground. He heard voices inside the meteors. “Planet fall achieved, sir,” reported a young sounding voice. “We’ve landed.”

“More of a falling then a landing,” said a gruff grandpa voice, “if you ask me.”

“That’s enough,” moaned another young voice. Knuckles heard someone holding back on throwing up. “Autobots, open the stasis pods,” said the second young voice. The meteors opened to reveal a giant robot inside each one. One of them, wearing a blue helmet with antennae and red outer armor, went to the edge of the island and hurled. When he finished, the robot jumped back startled. “Bumblebee,” directed the robot, “activate your cyber scanner and find out where we are.” The smallest robot, wearing yellow outer armor and a helmet with a tiny pair of horns, let something fly from his right wrist. It bathed the island in blue light, and then went back to the robot’s wrist.

“We seem to be on a floating island sir,” reported the small robot. “Its main source of power seems to be a giant jewel giving off energy. There is one life form on this island. At last scan, it was in the bushes over there.” He pointed to Knuckles’ hiding spot.

“Well, that tears it,” figured Knuckles. He jumped out of the bushes and got into a fighting stance. The robot with the antennae helmet turned to a red robot with black tubes on its forearms.

“Ironhide, what was that universal greeting again?” he asked. The robot with the tubes opened its mouth. “Never mind,” interjected the robot with the antennae, “I got it.” He then faced Knuckles. He put his left arm in front of himself, put his right wrist on top of the left, showed his palm to Knuckles, and spread his fingers out with the middle and ring finger staying together. “Bah-weep-graaaaagnah wheep nini bong!” called the robot. “We come in peace.” Knuckles lowered his fists and arched an eye ridge. “I am Optimus Prime,” the robot with the antennae helmet introduced, “leader of the Autonomous Robotic Organisms from the planet Cybertron. You can call us Autobots for short.” He gestured to the robot with the arm tubes. “This is my weapons specialist, Ironhide.” Ironhide pointed the business end of his tubes to Knuckles.

“You feeling lucky?” asked Ironhide in a cowboy drawl.

“Easy, Ironhide,” urged Optimus.

“What?” asked Ironhide as he lowered his weapons. “I just wanted to show him my cannons.” Optimus then gestured to a white robot built like Ironhide with a pair of black horns on the front of his helmet.

“My chief medical officer, Ratchet,” introduced Optimus. Ratchet sniffed the air.

“The creature’s pheromone levels suggest that he’s lonely and wants to mate,” he reported.

“Didn’t need to know that,” groaned Optimus. He then gestured to a red robot with purple optics and was built like the small yellow robot. “My assassin, Cliffjumper.” he introduced.

“Hey,” greeted Cliffjumper.

“And my scout, Bumblebee,” finished Optimus as he gestured towards the small yellow robot.

“Hello,” greeted Bumblebee.

“Are you and Cliffjumper brothers?” asked Knuckles.

“Slag, yeah!” confirmed Cliffjumper.

“How hard is it to take care of Bumblebee?” quizzed Knuckles.

“Wait, what?” yelped Cliffjumper. “N...no! No! I’m Bumblebee’s younger brother!”

“But he’s a pipsqueak compared to you!” protested Knuckles. Bumblebee then put his face up close to Knuckles’.

“YOU HAVE NO ROOM TO TALK, YOU MIDGET MONGREL!” he roared. Knuckles didn’t take to kindly to that.

“YOU’RE SHORTER THAN YOUR TEMPER!” he roared back.

“YOU’RE SO SHORT, YOU’D FIT IN A SCRAPLET HOLE!” shouted Bumblebee.

“MICRO MORON!” insulted Knuckles.

“SUBATOMIC SHRIMP!” snapped Bumblebee.

“SPASTIC SHORTSTACK!” shouted Knuckles. Bumblebee opened his mouth to say something, but Optimus cut him off.

“Bumblebee, stand down!” ordered Optimus.

“Sir, he…” protested Bumblebee.

“That’s an order!” snarled Optimus. Bumblebee hesitated, and then stood up. Optimus turned to Knuckles. “We didn’t come here to cause trouble, Mr.…er…I’m sorry, I don’t believe I know your name.”

“I’m Knuckles,” replied Knuckles, “guardian of this island and the Master Emerald.”

“The what now?” asked Ironhide.

“The jewel that Bumblebee detected,” clarified Knuckles, “it helps keep the Chaos Emeralds in balance.”

“What are Chaos Emeralds?” asked Ratchet.

“Seven jewels that have immense power in them,” replied Knuckles. “When all seven are collected, they give the user unlimited power.”

“Good thing the ‘Cons didn’t know about them.” muttered Ironhide.

“Who?” asked Knuckles.

“Their full name is the Deceptive Constructs,” explained Optimus, “or the Decepticons.”

“Long ago,” continued Ironhide, “The Autobots were in a war against the Decepticons. It started a thousand years before life began on Earth, or Mobius, as it’s called now apparently.”

“In fact, Ironhide and I were on Earth when the war was having its decisive battles,” remarked Ratchet.

“When was this?” asked Knuckles.

“By the old Earth calendar,” mused Ironhide, “I’d say 2007 to 2016.”

“You were there at the start of the century of self-awareness?” asked Knuckles.

“Sorry?” quizzed Ratchet.

“It’s when most of the animals gained sentience,” explained Knuckles.

“How did that happen?” asked Bumblebee.

“An alien species called the Xorda attacked Earth,” recalled Knuckles. “They mutated the animals in hopes that they could use them as slaves to wipe out the humans. They didn’t count on the animals suddenly demanding rights. The animals attacked the Xorda and beat them back. A few years later, after a lot of legal debate, they were given rights as humans. We helped humans improve the planet and now we coexist with humans. Some animals didn’t exactly gain sentience, so we still eat them.” The giant robots arched a metallic eyebrow.

“Okay, that seems awkward,” muttered Optimus.

“Never mind that,” dismissed Bumblebee. “Optimus, our alt-modes are outdated by this planet’s current standards.”

“What?!” wailed Ironhide. “I like this alt-mode of mine!”

“It would get you pulled over nowadays,” insisted Bumblebee. “Gasoline powered vehicles are considered museum pieces and driving them is illegal.”

“All right then,” declared Optimus. “Autobots, have your alt scanners on. We need more up to date alt-modes.”

“First things first, Optimus,” interjected Ratchet, “how do we get down from here?” Ratchet had a point. There weren’t any ways to get down from a floating island.

“Here,” replied Knuckles as he handed a gold ring to Optimus. “It’s a warp ring. It’ll take you wherever you want to go. Just think of the destination’s name and you’ll get there. I’d suggest Station Square. They have all sorts of modern vehicles there.”

“Er, Knuckles,” observed Optimus as he looked at the size of the ring, “I don’t think you can fit through that, much less any of us.” Knuckles grinned. He flicked the ring into the air and it expanded to allow Cybertronians to pass through. “…The frack?” swore Optimus.

“Like I said,” chuckled Knuckles, “think of Station Square and step through.” Optimus blinked, then shrugged and stepped through. As he disappeared, the Autobots looked at the ring nervously. Optimus then poked his head through the ring with a big grin on his face.

“You bots have got to see this!” he urged. He beckoned for the others to step through. They shrugged and followed Optimus. As they stepped through, Knuckles got an odd feeling about the Autobots, as if something dark was in one of them. The feeling was dismissed as Ratchet was the last to step through. Knuckles thought that maybe Tails should hear about this in the morning. Mobius, prepare yourself. Your lives will be transformed.


	2. Chapter 2

Shadow glanced at the monitors. His brain wracked with what those meteors could possibly be. Omega walked towards him. “Something troubles you,” observed the robot in his usual stilted, booming monotone.

“Those meteors Tails found,” answered Shadow, “they seem to have something inside them, but I can’t find anything alive in them.”

“Perhaps you should scan for non-organic objects,” suggested Omega.

“…Worth a shot,” mused Shadow.

* * *

Cybertron, a world of metal and logic, now recovers after a war that has ravaged the surface for four million years. On the surface, things are going rather smoothly. At least, that’s what the public believe. Unbeknownst to them, a ship took off. The reports to the Cybertronian Elite Guard, the police force of Cybertron, said that a renegade group of Autobots, the Throttlebots, had hijacked a former Decepticon warship that is now in the hands of the Elite Guard. Three Cybertronians were running to the bridge. Dion Pax, now called Ultra Magnus, head of the Elite Guard and second in command to Optimus, his youngest brother, took the middle child of the Pax children, Megatronus, and the former Decepticon leader after the war ended, Jhiaxus. Jhiaxus carried a cane as he had a limp. The three were running (or limping) at top speed. Megatronus had a black tube around his right arm to modify it as a fist laser. Ultra Magnus had a sphere shaped pistol that wrapped around his hand. Jhiaxus stuck with a standard pistol. They soon stopped outside of the bridge doors. “All right,” called Ultra Magnus in his Swahili accent, “on the count of three. One, two, thr…” he was interrupted as the ship lurched. “Perceptor,” he called on his comms unit, “what in the Pit was that?”

“The hyper-drive is coming online!” reported Perceptor. “This ship is warp capable now!”

“Jhiaxus,” snapped Ultra Magnus, “I thought you and Lugnut installed the new safeguards!”

“We did!” protested Jhiaxus as he sounded like Marlon Brando. “I personally triple-encrypted them! There is no way that the Throttlebots could ever get past them!”

“Th-Then how did they d-d-do it?!” stammered Megatronus.

“It doesn’t matter how they got through,” replied Ultra Magnus. “Perceptor, can you find out why the hyper-drive is online?”

“The intruders are laying in a course,” answered Perceptor. “They are going to Earth.” That statement made everyone raise a metallic eyebrow.

“To Earth?” asked Ultra Magnus, making sure he heard correctly.

“That is correct,” confirmed Perceptor.

“B-B-Brother,” interjected Megatronus, “i-i-if I were the Th-Throttlebots, I would m-m-make for the n-nearest D-D-Decepticon city and start s-smashing buildings.”

“You wouldn’t even need the weapons,” said Jhiaxus. “With the shields raised, the _Harbinger_ could steamroll through anything and not even scratch the paint job.”

“Perceptor, see if you can regain control of the ship from Engineering,” ordered Ultra Magnus.

“Yes, Sir!” confirmed Perceptor.

“And if there’s a radiation leak, don’t be a hero!” warned Ultra Magnus.

“Very little risk of that!” assured Perceptor. The comms unit went silent as communications were terminated.

“Ultra M-M-Magnus,” muttered Megatronus, “there’s s-s-something fishy here, b-b-but I can’t p-place my f-f-finger on w-w-what it is.

“Never mind that,” replied Ultra Magnus. “Once more. One, two, three!” The three robots stormed the bridge. There was a cloaked figure sitting at the helm. “Rollbar,” boomed Ultra Magnus, “you are under arrest for stealing Elite Guard property! Surrender now and I can promise you a swift and fair trial!” The figure didn’t move. “Rollbar, I know you can hear me!” hissed Ultra Magnus. The figure still didn’t move. “Rollbar, turn around!” snapped Ultra Magnus.

“That is not my name,” answered the figure. His voice was gravelly and nasal. As he turned and stood, the cloak slid off of him to reveal a slender robot with wings. The three robots stared with wide eyed expressions.

“Jhiaxus,” gulped Megatronus, “the b-b-bot, it looks l-l-like…”

“It is,” confirmed Jhiaxus.

“I am,” chuckled the robot.

“This is impossible!” protested Ultra Magnus. “You were locked up 1,674.31 stellar cycles ago. I saw you during your trial!”

“You honestly thought that I would stay locked up, Son of Arcanus Pax?” asked the robot. “Give me some credit. I have broken out of the stockade before. I’ve even broken out of Kaon Prison before. Did you really think I wouldn’t have a plan? I have been fighting you Autobots longer than you were even thought of. I’ve slain Titan class Cybertronians, Pit spawn, and anything the Wreckers threw at me! I am Air Commander Starscream of the Decepticon battle fleet, supreme leader of the Seekers!”

“Starscream,” ordered Jhiaxus, “release control of the ship to me at once!”

“Negative!” replied Starscream. “If I recall correctly, you gave up being my boss stellar cycles ago. I don’t follow your orders now. You will follow my orders and let this ship continue unimpeded towards Earth.”

“We d-don’t follow orders f-f-from war c-c-criminals!” stammered Megatronus.

“And I will destroy this ship if I have to,” growled Ultra Magnus.

“You’re bluffing,” scoffed Starscream. “I have no respect for those who bluff.”

“Computer,” called Ultra Magnus, “this is Ultra Magnus of the Cybertronian Elite Guard. Destruct sequence 1, code 1, 1 alpha!” Starscream still had his smirk. “Megatronus, do it,” commanded Ultra Magnus. Megatronus gulped.

“C-C-Computer,” he finally got out, “this is M-M-Megatronus Pax of the C-C-Cybertronian Elite G-Guard. Destruct s-sequence 2, code 2, 2 b-beta!”

“Jhiaxus,” directed Ultra Magnus.

“You don’t honestly believe that Jhiaxus would destroy a ship he himself commissioned?” asked Starscream.

“Computer,” called Jhiaxus, “this is Jhiaxus, former lord of the now defunct Decepticons. Destruct sequence 3, code 3, 3 gamma.”

“All initial codes accepted,” reported a feminine voice. “However, the self-destruct sequence cannot be initiated without final codes.”

“Final destruct code, Zero, Zero, Destroy, Zero, Zero, One, Zero,” instructed Ultra Magnus.

“Final code accepted,” replied the computer. “This ship will self-destruct in 30 cycles.”

“Computer,” smirked Starscream, “override Priority Star!”

“Code not recognized,” answered the computer. Starscream’s smirk was replaced with a look of terror.

“You may try whatever tricks you have,” hissed Ultra Magnus, “but this ship belongs to the Elite Guard now! So, I suggest that you surren…!” He wasn’t able to finish his sentence as Megatronus crumpled in a heap. “Megatronus!” called Ultra Magnus as he ran to his brother’s side. Ultra Magnus and Jhiaxus then felt something electrical course through their bodies. As they blacked out, Starscream chuckled as he walked to the helm and keyed in a command.

“Warning,” called the computer, “self-destruct overridden!”


	3. Chapter 3

Mobius at night can be very beautiful when two lovers are walking under the stars. If you’re trying to go for a solitary run and a girl who’s obsessed with you is chasing you, then the beauty is less observed. That’s what was happening to Sonic, our favorite blue, speed demon hedgehog, as he ran from Amy Rose, the aforementioned obsessive fangirl. “Just one nighttime run,” thought Sonic, “that’s all I ask.”

“SONIC!” shouted Amy in her shrill voice. “COME BACK HERE!” The Blue Blur ran into the forest on the outskirts of Station Square. Amy followed close behind but lost him in the woods. “SONIC!” she called. “WHERE ARE YOU?!” Amy noticed a red sports car in the forest. It was shaped like a rocket with four anti-grav guiders replacing the wheels on each end. A blue hedgehog with blue eyes and a white hexagon on his forehead was looking on a data pad while leaning against it. His quill style was like Shadow’s and he wore a red sports jacket with blue jeans, black boots, white, fingerless gloves, and a medallion around his neck. “Sonic,” sighed Amy, “that’s the lamest disguise I’ve ever seen. Will you get out of that thing and help me investigate Club Dancitron?” The hedgehog blinked at Amy, then shrugged and disappeared in a flash of bluish light and pixels. The car started shaking as well. The nose cone end extended to make three separate mobile parts connected by joints. It split in half and each half swung down to the ground while the halves of the tip of the car nose extended into five long slender fingers. The rear of the car split in half down the middle, and then each half split down the middle again and made legs. The feet popped out from the insides of the legs and swung down to the ends. The front anti-grav generators swiveled 180 degrees so they were upside down. The rear anti-grav generators attached themselves to the outsides of the feet. The steel like glass canopy moved to the back of the new robot while a head popped out from the upper torso. Amy didn’t know the robot, but judging by the way the helmet on the head was blue and had antennae, I think we know who it is, don’t you?

“Well,” thought Optimus, “this isn’t awkward.” His face said otherwise. He didn’t use the universal greeting on Amy as he figured that most people would have the same reaction as Knuckles on this planet. “Erm…hi,” he began. Amy stared for a while.

“AAAHHH! WHAT THE HECK!!” she shrieked.

“Whoa! Whoa!” yelped Optimus as he raised his hands in a defensive manner, as well as trying to calm Amy. “It’s okay! It’s okay,” he assured. Amy wasn’t listening and pulled her hammer out of hammer-space. “WHOA, WHOA, WHOA! Lady! Put the hammer down!” shouted Optimus.

“Are you one of Robotnik’s?!” hissed Amy.

“What?!” asked Optimus in disbelief.

“Are you one of Robotnik’s robots?!” snarled Amy.

“Whoa, okay!” gulped Optimus. “I have several robotniks, yes.”

“You have several?” quizzed Amy.

“Well, lady, how do you think I operate?” asked Optimus

“Operate?!” yelped Amy. “What kind of operation do you belong to that needs several Robotniks?! Did he clone himself?!” Optimus blinked, confused at Amy's line of questioning.

“Okay,” he remarked as he sat down cross legged. “I think there’s been a breakdown in communication. When I say ‘robotnik’, what leaps to mind with you?”

“A fat, scientific dictator that calls himself Eggman,” replied Amy.

“…Yeeaah,” sighed Optimus as he rubbed his face with his hand.

“But when I say ‘Robotnik’,” asked Amy, “what leaps to mind with you?”

“Tiny radios in my body that are connected to my central processor to keep my motions fluid like yours,” replied Optimus.

“Oh,” replied Amy as her cheeks went red and she put her hammer away.

“Yeah,” commented Optimus. “Look, we got off on the wrong foot. My name is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots from the planet Cybertron.”

“I’m Amy Rose,” introduced Amy. “What are you doing here on Mobius?”

“One of my men has come to your planet without my permission,” explained Optimus. “I’m trying to keep a court-martial of his chassis and bring him back to Cybertron.”

“Why does he need your permission to come here?” asked Amy.

“Because this planet was once part of a war that all Cybertronians were part of,” answered Optimus. “The Cybertronian government imposed sanctions to keep us from visiting planets that our war touched in case there was still animosity towards us.”

“So, you’re trying to get this bot out of trouble,” guessed Amy. She started thinking about something. “Maybe I can help you.”

“Huh?” asked Optimus.

“You don’t know your way around Station Square,” replied Amy. “I live here. Maybe I can help find this bot you’re looking for. If he’s as tall as you, we can spot him easily.”

“Not that easily,” countered Optimus. “That changing-from-car-to-robot thing I did, that’s something all Cybertronians can do. On top of that, we can make a synthetic form to look like we’re from your planet. That hedgehog you saw, that was me. My mind transferred to that artificial body once the atoms in the air were rearranged. I don’t know what form Jazz took.” Amy perked up.

“Did you say Jazz?” she asked.

“Yep, that’s the bot’s name,” confirmed Optimus.

“Does Jazz make light shows from things on his shoulders whenever he’s scratching at a DJ table?” asked Amy.

“…Yes,” ventured Optimus. Then it hit him. “You know where he is.”

“I know where he is,” confirmed Amy. “He’s the owner and DJ at Club Dancitron. I went there last night and felt that there was something unusual about the DJ. I just didn’t know that he was a robot in disguise. I wanted to investigate with my darling Sonic, but he just ran off.”

“I think we can work something out,” grinned Optimus. “Let me just change and we’ll be on our way.” Optimus changed back into vehicle mode and activated his synthetic body. “Let’s rock ‘em out!” cheered Optimus. Amy arched an eyebrow. “Er, I was trying to make a cool ‘move out’ phrase,” mumbled Optimus.

“Needs work,” remarked Amy. Optimus shrugged. The canopy opened. The car could seat six people. The driver sat in the middle while the passengers sat behind or to either side of him or her. Optimus got into the driver’s seat while Amy took the front right passenger seat. The canopy closed and Optimus moved onto the street. Amy told him where to turn until they came to a problem that still wasn’t solved.

“Traffic!” hissed Optimus. “I hate traffic! Cybertron has the worst traffic record in the universe! I swear I see at least 200 accidents a day whenever I’m on the speedway!”

“And I thought having living cars would be better,” remarked Amy. “Guess a lack of common sense is everywhere in the galaxy.”

“In the universe,” corrected Optimus.

“Wow,” commented Amy.

“Yeah, my mom always says common sense isn’t common, and there are moments when I agree with her,” sighed Optimus.

“I meant to ask,” interjected Amy, “how old are you?”

“Let’s see, in Cybertronian years, or stellar cycles,” replied Optimus, “I’m about 125.57. In Mobian years, I’m 150.”

“150?!” yelped Amy.

“Yep,” chuckled Optimus, “you’re looking at the youngest Prime in Cybertronian history.” Amy was about to register more surprise when a hologram of an angry wolf’s head popped up inside the car.

“WOULD YOU MOVE!!” he roared.

“DO YOU NOT SEE THE WALL OF NON MOVING CARS IN FRONT OF US?!” Optimus roared back. He terminated communications.

“I don’t understand,” quizzed Amy, “why don’t you engage flight mode?”

“If I did that,” replied Optimus, “you would have to get out, I would have to change, then I’d have to pick you up in my hand, then it would take 10 of your minutes to warm up the thrusters and get any lift while standing still, and that would take up a lot of my power reserves. We’ll have to suffer through traffic.”

“No, I mean activate your vehicle mode’s flight mode,” elaborated Amy.

“I don’t HAVE a vehicle mode flight mode,” argued Optimus.

“Look in the sky,” instructed Amy. Now Optimus was even more confused. He looked up as she asked and saw things flying in the air. He looked a little closer and saw flying cars. Some of them were like his vehicle mode and some were like semi-trucks. “All vehicles come with a standard issue flight mode,” explained Amy. “They don’t have the necessary power to go higher than 200 stories in the air. If road traffic is too awful, just say ‘Engage flight mode’ and it’ll take you to the skyways.”

“That’s so cool!” cheered Optimus. “I gotta try it out! Engage flight mode!” Optimus twisted his driving joysticks a full 180 degrees.

“Optimus!” cried Amy. “Not that much!” The car shot straight up and almost knocked a couple of cars out of the sky.

“FRACK!” swore Optimus. He gained control of the car, but his flying was very shaky.

“I was going to tell you about the auto-drive on the thing,” sighed Amy.

“Wait, this thing can drive itself?” asked Optimus.

“Yeah, but only on the…” began Amy.

“Auto-drive!” interrupted Optimus. Nothing happened. “Activate auto-pilot!” ordered Optimus. Still nothing. “Auto-flyer, engage!” Optimus was still on manual. “How do I turn on the auto-drive?”

“It doesn’t work in flight mode!” replied Amy.

“I could really use a steering wheel!” snarled Optimus.

“We don’t have steering wheels!” shouted Amy. “We have driver sticks!” They argued for a few seconds until Amy pointed out the rooftop landing for the night club Dancitron. Amy and Optimus hopped out of the car and walked toward the main door when two beefy warthogs stopped them. “Don’t worry, you two,” assured Amy, “he’s with me.”

“Sorry, Miss Rose,” replied one of the guards in a Brooklyn accent, “but da kid ain’t on da list.”

“Well,” asked Optimus, “how do I get on the list?”

“You’ll need to speak with the DJ,” answered a voice. Optimus and Amy turned and saw Sonic walking towards them.

“And you are?” asked Optimus.

“I’m Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog!” Sonic gave his usual cocky smirk.

“Oh, so you’re the Sonic that Amy was talking about,” realized Optimus.

“That’s me!” chuckled Sonic. He then saw Amy next to Optimus and remembered running from her an hour ago. Amy looked very red in the face. “Uh oh,” he gulped.

“SONIC!” screamed Amy. “HOW COME YOU MADE ME LOSE YOU IN THE WOODS?!”

“Wait,” yelped Sonic, “I can explain!”

“Stow it, both of you,” sighed Optimus. Amy just glared, and then turned around huffing in annoyance. “Now then,” called Optimus to the bouncers, “what do I have to do to get on the list?”

“Like Sonic said,” answered the first bouncer, “you’ll need to talk to da boss, but he’s scratchin’ away. He’ll be doin’ it ‘til closing, and then he hits the sack. You’ll have to come back tomorrow.”

“I don’t think you realize that I need to see him now,” insisted Optimus as he flashed his wallet. The badge had an Autobot symbol on it. The bouncers blinked in surprise, then raised their pistols. Sonic, Amy, and Optimus stepped back.

“Hey, whoa!” called Sonic.

“Guido, Melvin,” protested Amy, “put the guns away!”

“Look, pal,” said Guido to Optimus, “it’s nothing personal. The boss just doesn’t want to go back.”

“Dude,” gulped Optimus, “there are some things you don’t know about your boss.”

“We know what planet he’s from,” replied Melvin, “we saw him change.”

“Oh, you know about Cybertronians,” sighed Optimus, “that sparks.”

“Look, you’re nice and all,” continued Melvin, “but we can’t let our boss see you. We don’t want you to arrest him.”

“Look, I’m trying to keep a court-martial off his chassis,” assured Optimus. “Let me see him, and we can all walk away from this unharmed.”

“Sorry, dude,” sighed Guido, “Nothing personal.” The bouncers opened fire. Sonic, Amy, and Optimus scattered and hid behind separate cars. Optimus hid behind his vehicle mode and drew his own pistol. He deliberately missed Guido and Melvin. He didn’t want to hurt them.

“You realize that you have no cover, right?” he called out. “This place is pretty open.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” called a voice. “Weapons down!” A male porcupine with his quills in dreadlocks stepped out of the club. He had a muscle shirt with blue vertical stripes running down the front and white baggy cargo pants. He had a blue visor over his eyes and fingerless gloves. “Dudes, let’s not harsh the party here.” directed the porcupine. “Lower your guns and we can talk like the civilized dudes I know we are. Now, what’s the problem here?”

“Dat hedgehog over dere is part of your people,” replied Guido. “We’re not letting him take you.”

“Jazz,” called Optimus, “I’m not here to arrest you. I just want to talk.”

“Guido, Melvin,” ordered Jazz, “put the guns down. That’s Optimus Prime, my boss and the boss of all the Autobots. We’re friends. He’s a little brash, but he is reasonable.”

“Brash?” protested Optimus. He popped out of hiding and holstered his gun. “Excuse me!”

“It’s okay, dude,” assured Jazz. “What can I do for you?”

“Boss,” called Guido, “what about da partiers here?”

“The firefight just killed the mood,” hissed Jazz. “Thanks for that!”

“Sorry,” said Guido, sheepishly.

“Anyway,” replied Jazz, “Optimus, that whole thing about sneaking to Earth, Mobius now, I can explain. You see, someone is digging up Cybertronian corpses and disturbing their place of rest.” Optimus raised an eye ridge.

“When did this happen?” he asked.

“It was a few Earth months ago,” reported Jazz. “I made several requests to you through Tarkana-5, but apparently they didn’t get through.” Optimus scrunched his face and rubbed his chin.

“That doesn’t make sense,” he muttered. “She’s usually so diligent about telling me about this.”

“Who’s Tarkana-5?” asked Sonic.

“My secretary,” answered Optimus, “as well as my girlfriend’s cousin. Something doesn’t add up here.” Optimus shook his head. “Never mind, we better contact Iacon.”

“What?” asked Amy.

“The capital city on Cybertron,” explained Jazz. He turned to Optimus. “Do you have an intergalactic transmitter?”

“Got one right here,” answered Optimus as he pointed to his trunk.

“Let’s get Iacon on the horn after the clubbers leave,” suggested Jazz.

“Good thinking,” replied Optimus. It took a good half hour, but the clubbers cleared the place and soon the Autobots, the bouncers, Sonic, and Amy were the only ones left. Optimus motioned for Jazz to help him get something out of his trunk. He opened it and Jazz helped him get out a strange machine with a satellite dish on top. They took it inside and hooked it up to the DJ table. Optimus fiddled with a few buttons until the satellite dish pointed up to the ceiling. “Optimus Prime calling Cybertronian Elite Guard, come in.” A human in 1700’s French Noblemen attire appeared in a bluish hologram. “Wheeljack?” asked Optimus.

“Bonjour, Monsieur Prime,” greeted the robot.

“Where’s Ultra Magnus?” quizzed Optimus.

“Something had come up,” replied Wheeljack in his French accent. “The Throttlebots had hijacked the _Harbinger_ and he, Megatronus, Perceptor, and Jhiaxus were on board to try and turn it around. They have not reported in yet.”

“Well, Ultra Magnus can take care of himself,” figured Optimus. “Us Pax brothers are a hardy bunch. In any case, I found Jazz.”

“C'est merveilleux,” replied Wheeljack, “but he’s still facing a court-martial. Have you got anything out of him?”

“Someone is digging up the final resting places of Cybertronians from the war here,” answered Optimus. “Tarkana-5 hadn’t given me the copies of Jazz’s requests to leave for this planet.”

“That explains a few things,” mused Wheeljack. “Tarkana-5 has abandoned her post. She hasn’t reported in for a while since you’ve gone.”

“The mystery deepens,” mumbled Optimus. “In any case, I think that should clear Jazz’s name.”

“Oui, Monsieur,” confirmed Wheeljack. “I will inform the Elite Guard and clear the court martial charges.”

“Good work,” Optimus grinned. Jazz did as well. “We’ll give the dead a proper send-off and leave when we’re done.” Wheeljack grimaced.

“A lot of warriors died there,” he recalled. “Autobots and Decepticons alike died to finish the war quickly. It would take months on Earth to send them all off even with the proper equipment.”

“Which we need right now,” replied Optimus.

“I don’t think the High Council will agree with it,” sighed Wheeljack. “I’ll do what I can, but even if they agree, sending the equipment will take a lot of time.”

“I understand,” replied Optimus. “Do what you can. I’ll tie up loose ends here.

“Oui, Monsieur Prime,” answered Wheeljack. “Wheeljack, out.” The hologram fizzled out.

“Hm,” muttered Jazz, “looks like there’s going to be political grandstanding before a vote.”

“So it seems,” agreed Optimus. “We better get started and start investigating. I’ll call the others.”

“Who came with you?” asked Jazz.

“Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Ratchet, and Ironhide,” replied Optimus.

“Practically a small squadron,” chuckled Jazz. Optimus went out to his vehicle mode and took a small handset in his hand.

“Optimus to Ironhide,” he called, “come in.”

“This is Ironhide,” came the Texan drawl. “Go ahead Prime.”

“I’ve located Jazz and have cleared his name,” reported Optimus. “We have a new mission though.”

“What’s that?” asked Ironhide.

“Someone’s digging up the final resting places of Autobots and Decepticons. I don’t know the reason, but we can’t have that,” affirmed Optimus.

“So once the Elite Guard convinces the council to send the vaporizer, we should be able to give the dead a proper send off,” guessed Ironhide.

“You got it.” Optimus heard something strange over the radio. “What’s that sound?”

“That’s the sound of feet,” replied Ironhide. Optimus noted a rhythm to the footsteps and guessed on how many pairs of feet there were.

“’Hide, is that an army marching?” he asked.

“A robot army’s marching on Station Square,” reported Ironhide. “I’m in their way at the moment.”

“Ironhide,” ordered Optimus, “do not engage! Repeat, do not engage!”

“Too late for that Prime,” replied Ironhide, “they saw me and are leveling guns towards me.”

“At least, wait for backup!” protested Optimus.

“Prime,” answered Ironhide, “remember when you were a little Orion Pax and I would visit? I sat you down on my knee and told you stories about me and my partners, the Wreckers. Do you remember what we always said?”

“Ironhide, no!” pleaded Optimus.

“Wreckers don’t call for backup, they call for cleanup! Ironhide out.” Ironhide ended the communications channel.

“I have a feeling that being in command’s a lot harder than I thought,” sighed Optimus to no one in particular.


	4. Chapter 4

“What about the tri-scan maneuver?” asked Shadow to Agus Atmadja, the Komodo dragon.

“Initiating scan,” reported Agus. A buzzing filled the air. “Negative.”

“Damn it!” snarled Shadow.

“Maybe we should abandon this project, sobat,” remarked Agus.

“I’m not going to call it quits yet, Agus,” growled Shadow. “We’re going to find out what’s inside the meteors. Speaking of, have you found out where they landed?”

“I’m afraid not,” replied Agus. “I can get one of the new Tech Beetles to look for them.”

“Don’t bother,” dismissed Shadow, “we need them focused on those crystals. I’m assuming that there are no conclusive results on them?”

“None, aside from the fact that the insane radiation they put out doesn’t affect us in any way, shape, or form,” answered Agus. Shadow was about to drill the Komodo dragon when the mobilization alarm started blaring. Shadow switched gears and brought up the mission statement. Eggman’s army had started attacking the western outskirts of Station Square and was met with three giant robots of non Mobian design. A firefight had started and Team Dark, along with the new Shade Platoon, was to go and beat back Eggman and take the robots in for questioning.

“We’ll talk at a later time,” growled Shadow. He sped towards the hangar and met up with Rouge and Omega.

“Two factions of robots fighting each other,” droned Omega, “it is a good day for destruction!”

“Keep the property damage to a minimum,” ordered Shadow.

“Aww!” groaned Omega. “I never get to have any fun!”

“All troops ready, sir!” reported Commander Hanson.

“Let’s move people!” ordered Shadow as he boarded the drop ship. “We’ve got a robot battle going on, and I want to find out about the unknown robots!”

* * *

Things had gone from bad to worse for the Autobots. Once Optimus, Jazz, Sonic and Amy arrived at Ironhide’s position, Eggman’s army was laughing at Ironhide. He had taken the form of a red van with hover generators where wheels should be and his cannons on the roof and had a red echidna in cowboy getup as a holo form. Optimus and Jazz just looked at each other and wondered what the hell was going on. Jazz’s vehicle mode looked like a saucer with the left and right sides of it cut off and the whole thing was smoothed out and rounded down. The hover generators were located in the same manner as Ironhide and the rear had tail-fins. Optimus tried to reason with the army, but they didn’t listen and started to open fire. It took quick transformations to robot mode and a quick setup of defensive barriers to hold off the volley of laser fire. Jazz’s transformation consisted of the rear extending away from the car on legs and the new component swung down and split down the middle to make legs. The front swung down to become the chest, making the doors turn into wings and the top of the car become his back. His arms swung down from underneath the front of the car as it moved to be the chest and the hover generators rotated to the sides of his shoulders. His head popped out, with a helmet design that made it have short horns and had a black color to it. He had a blue visor over his optics. Ironhide’s transformation was simplistic in form. The front extended, allowing for the middle and back to extend and split into four limbs. The doors swung up to become shoulder pads and the top two limbs swung to the sides of the torso and hands popped out from each end. The bottom limbs swung down to become legs with feet coming out of the bottom. His head popped up once the main body was complete. That’s when the firefight began. “This is getting out of hand!” hissed Optimus.

“Optimus,” called Sonic, “mind giving me and Amy some cover fire?”

“What for?” asked Optimus.

“Let’s just say that Sonic and I have a talent for splitting those kinds of robots open,” replied Amy. Optimus was dubious but agreed.

“Autobots, give the Mobians covering fire!” he ordered. Sonic and Amy charged at the robot army and started smashing them.

“Priority one Hedgehog!” shouted a robot. Sonic spin dashed it and it fell apart in an instant. This was repeated for 20 more times. The Autobots were amazed.

“You bots seeing this?!” quizzed Optimus.

“How can we not?” asked Jazz.

“Can we keep our minds on the fight?!” snapped Ironhide. Optimus opened his mouth to retort when a trio of civilian vehicles followed by a full G.U.N. squadron approached. This squadron was Shade Platoon, Shadow’s elite squadron. The civilian vehicles were an ambulance built like Ironhide being driven by a white echidna in full medical gear and a pair of smoothed out Volkswagens driven by a red hornet and a yellow bumblebee.

“By the Allspark,” sighed Optimus. “I thought we covered our tracks!”

“Bee, Cliff, and Ratch might have some explaining to do,” snarled Ironhide.

“Save it,” replied Jazz. As they were talking, the drivers of the civilian vehicles disappeared and the vehicles changed into robot mode. Ratchet was the ambulance. His transformation was like Ironhide’s. Bumblebee and Cliffjumper’s transformations were the same as well. The rear split and tilted to become shoulder pads for the arms that swung from the undercarriage to the shoulder connections. The fronts of the vehicles extended on leg like limbs and they swung up and separated to become feet. The top of the cars and the doors rotated 180 degrees and rotated to the back of the robots so the doors looked like wings. Once their heads popped out, the Stinger brothers were ready for battle. They set up defensive barriers as well and allowed their weapons to reveal themselves from their arms. The Stinger brothers started blazing away at Eggman’s army. As the Autobots kept up the fire, Shadow ordered Shade Platoon to observe. Optimus noticed this and turned towards Shade Platoon.

“Well?” he asked. “Are you going to help us? There are some civilians that’ll get caught in the crossfire. Just saying.”

“At the moment,” replied Shadow, “I think observation is key.”

“Conversion units,” came an order from the head of Eggman’s army, “convert into bipedal mode.” That’s when the computer controlled tanks surprised the Autobots. These tanks had four treads and a rotating barrel. Bracers clamped around the sides of the tank treads and had three fingered hands on the front treads and feet on the back treads. The treads extended and formed arms and legs while the body was the main rotating gun barrel. A small head popped up from the middle. What once were robot tanks were tank like, bipedal robots. They swatted Sonic and Amy over to the Autobots.

“Ratchet!” called Optimus. Ratchet transformed and drove to where Sonic and Amy landed. He got them inside his ambulance mode while Sonic was protesting.

“Come on!” he argued. “I’m still kicking!”

“Not in the mood to argue, sir,” hissed Ratchet. He finally shoved Sonic into the ambulance and bathed Sonic and Amy in a blue light. “That should get basic Mobian Biology out of the way,” he mused. “We’ll have you back on your feet soon enough.” While that was going on, Shade Platoon had decided to join in the firefight. The bipedal tanks, however, had crossed their arms in front and started generating shields. Laser fire just bounced off. Optimus and Jazz started planning.

“What do you say,” grinned Optimus, “make our sensei proud?”

“You know it!” cheered Jazz with a smirk. Optimus nodded with the same smirk.

“Autobots, give Jazz and I covering fire!” he ordered as they leapt over their barriers.

“Prime, get back here!” shouted Ironhide. Too late, Optimus and Jazz were charging into the enemy’s ranks. They intended to use hand to hand combat on the enemy. Stupid, yes, but it caught the robots off guard when their fists managed to get past the defense shields. Their sensei was an ancient Cybertronian martial artist from a time long before the war started. He always passed down his teachings to his students to keep the martial arts alive. Optimus and Jazz demonstrated three of the disciplines that day. They first used Crystalocution to disable the tank robots. This discipline is one of the deadliest as it focuses on striking a robot at its metal’s fracture points. This, in turn, causes the robot to fall apart in pieces. Optimus and Jazz had plenty of qualms about using it against sentient robots but used it against the robots of Eggman. Once the tank bots were down, Jazz swapped over to his usual style of Metallikato, a martial art that focuses heavily on spirituality and encourages having a wide range of attack strategies. It was perfect for a bot that goes with the flow, like Jazz. Optimus preferred Circuit-Su. It was a martial art that focuses on the willpower of the practitioner. Optimus had a lot of willpower to succeed and live life and so he put that energy into his attacks. Shadow added to the cover fire with his usual Chaos Spear.

“We’re losing too many soldiers!” called a robot from Eggman’s army. “Retreat!” As they left, a robot turned to face the Autobots.

“Here’s a welcome gift, robots!” he taunted. “Compliments of Doctor Eggman!” He fired off a shot from his tank’s barrel towards Optimus. Optimus leaned to his right to dodge and fired a shot from his own pistol at the tank. The tank exploded, but, amazingly, didn’t cause property damage.

“OH YEAH!” cheered Optimus. “Victory Dance!” Optimus and Jazz started dancing like loons while Ratchet got Sonic and Amy out and transformed. Ironhide meanwhile was talking to Shadow. He explained the whole situation and said that the Autobots need a base of operations.

“Well,” hissed Shadow, “until that day, you bots are coming with us to answer some questions.”

“All right. Now, if y’all will excuse me,” Ironhide replied to Shade Platoon. He stood up and grabbed a staff with a wrench head on one end and whacked Optimus and Jazz while they danced with their backs to Ironhide. The blow knocked them out and they fell flat on their faces in a comedic fashion. The wrench head of the staff broke off, but Ironhide didn’t know until a few seconds later. He then turned to Ratchet, who looked like he was holding something. A sheepish grin and wave from Ironhide made Ratchet utter a phrase that would be repeated during the Autobots’ time on Mobius.

“IRONHIDE, I NEEDED THAT!”


	5. Chapter 5

On the _Harbinger_ , Megatronus watched Starscream bicker with another veteran, Soundwave. Soundwave had a red visor over his optics, a helmet looking like a snapback hat put on backwards, and a big six barreled rotating gun on his right shoulder. He sounded like the 90’s Kid from _Atop the Fourth Wall_. “Dude, I’m telling you, the readings just seem weird!” he yelled at Starscream.

“Your equipment is faulty!” declared Starscream in his Spoony voice. “Energon does not grow that fast!”

“I triple checked every bit of circuitry and code!” snapped Soundwave. “Earth’s Energon reserves have gone from too little to too much!”

“That’s impossible!” shrieked Starscream. “What could make it grow that fast?!”

“I don’t know, but I won’t know until we get there,” replied Soundwave. “In any case, Knock-out wants to see the second of the Pax kids.”

“Ah, yes,” remarked Starscream, “the silver, stuttering simpleton. I recall that he used that fist laser on me when my back was turned and blew up an Energon mine Jhiaxus had ordered to be used. Open his cell. He can’t do much in those stasis cuffs.”

“No!” whimpered Megatronus. “No, you can’t!”

“Can and will, little dude,” snickered Soundwave. He opened the cell and Starscream grabbed Megatronus’ head.

“The doctor will see you now,” he chuckled as he dragged Megatronus to the medical facility. Megatronus screamed in terror until he entered the room where three Decepticons stood. Soundwave closed the door and Starscream dumped Megatronus on the doctor’s table.

“Keys,” ordered one of the mechs, a red one with long slender fingers, headlights on the chest, and driving wheels on the back and a wheel on each foot.

“Sorry?” asked Starscream, taken aback.

“Doctor’s orders,” replied the red mech.

“Knock-out, you can’t be serious,” protested Starscream.

“Give Knock-out the keys or I start causing damage to your armor!” snarled Megatronus. Starscream noticed the sudden change in his voice.

“Shouldn’t you be stuttering?” he asked. Megatronus rolled his optics and snapped the stasis cuffs. It startled Starscream and made him gasp in terror.

“When I give a command,” snarled Megatronus, “I expect it to be obeyed!”

“He IS our new Lord,” remarked a blue robot built like Starscream, sounding like Linkara.

“This fool?” snapped Starscream. “Thundercracker, you can’t be serious!”

“I will thank you to keep that to yourself,” hissed Megatronus as the tube around his arm split in half and put itself on the top of his lower arm. He leveled the new arm mounted fusion cannon at Starscream.

“Although, in light of this situation,” said Starscream quickly, “we do need a strong, alert leader to refuel our campaign against the Autobots!” Megatronus lowered his arm.

“An intelligent idea,” he hissed.

“Now, my liege,” interjected Knock-out, “about that armor mishap of yours, I don’t understand how this could have happened.”

“And yet,” snarled Megatronus, “it DID! Can you imagine the setback? There I was, breaking the Seekers over there out of the Stockade with an EMP bomb, when the energy shorted out my armor’s systems! I only just escaped with my internal workings intact! Clearly the shielding was faultier than you realized, doctor!”

“Er…well,” stammered Knock-out, “on the bright side, this provides an excellent opportunity for a total armor overhaul!” A display screen flashed on, showing different Cybertronian armor. “Now let’s see, you could go with Cyclatron’s Model Px-15. It’s reliable, low maintenance, although it lacks a certain flair. Personally, I prefer Miss Silver Wing’s RK-5. It has just the right mix of strength and style!”

“Yeah,” replied a third bot looking like a black and purple Starscream, sounding like the Nostalgia Critic, “correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t a total armor overhaul require scanning a new vehicle mode?”

“Skywarp’s right,” confirmed Starscream.

“Never thought I’d hear you say that,” chuckled Thundercracker.

“A small price to pay,” assured Knock-out.

“I DON’T WANT A NEW MODEL OF ARMOR!” roared Megatronus. “I want the same armor I had before!”

“My Lord, I’m going to be brutally honest here,” commented Thundercracker, “your equipment is obsolete! I doubt Knock-out has any of it lying around. That fusion cannon is a fuel gobbler. I doubt your current vehicle mode is being built anymore. What do you transform into?”

“A Honda 2016 Acura NSX,” replied Megatronus.

“Thundercracker’s right,” sighed Knock-out, “I doubt those lovely vehicles are being made any more. I doubt Honda is even in business. It’s 4016 by the Earth calendar. If you really are that attached to your vehicle mode sir, we could try to salvage the armor’s code. You kept the core code, didn’t you?”

“It was…beyond recovery,” replied Megatronus. He then changed gears. “Very well, while I choose new armor, the Seekers shall assist Soundwave in quadruple checking the Energon counters.”

“Yes, sir!” confirmed Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, and Soundwave. They left the medical wing while Knock-out gave his new Lord a catalog of armor to look over.


	6. Chapter 6

Back on Mobius, the Autobots had arrived at G.U.N. HQ and were escorted to a storage barn. Optimus and Jazz were still rubbing the backs of their heads. “Did you have to hit us like that?” protested Optimus.

“Did you really think doing that would have made your sensei proud?” asked Ironhide.

“What are you talking about?” quizzed Jazz.

“Ironhide’s right,” called Ratchet. “What you did was practically suicide!”

“Prime, only an idiot would use his fists in a gun fight,” hissed Ironhide. “Those bots were out for blood!”

“Come on, man!” protested Jazz. “We survived.”

“Besides,” interjected Optimus, “I told you to not engage.”

“It was stupid of me, yes,” remarked Ironhide, “but I had my weapons when they had theirs. The enemy will always seek whatever advantage they can get. Don’t give them that advantage.”

“Dude, come on,” argued Optimus. “We beat the…”

“YES, we DID beat the bad guys!” snapped Ironhide. He then cycled air through his olfactory sensors. “Prime, you know those comics you read, where the bad guys would stop their assault because there were sparklings in the area? Sometimes they let the hero have a fighting chance?” Optimus nodded. “The Decepticons and those bots we fought; they aren’t like those guys. They will kill anyone if they get the chance, even you if you’re not properly equipped. Do not give them that chance. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” mumbled Optimus.

“Okay then,” finished Ironhide. “I’ve said my peace.” He left Optimus and Jazz to ponder what was said.

“I guess we didn’t make Yoketron proud today,” muttered Jazz.

“No, I guess we didn’t,” sighed Optimus. He then noticed Bumblebee was fiddling with a piece of machinery. “What’s up?” he asked.

“This thing won’t work!” snarled Bumblebee. “I keep getting high Energon numbers!”

“How?” asked Optimus. He turned to Ironhide. “You said that you bots practically drained Earth’s Energon reserves.”

“We did,” confirmed Ironhide. “Why?”

“I’m having technical difficulties with the Energon readings,” answered Bumblebee. “The mechanics check out though!”

“Maybe it’s not a hardware problem,” guessed Optimus. “Maybe the software is screwy. Mind if I take a crack at it? I was the best data archivist in the Hall of Records in Iacon.”

“Knock yourself out,” sighed Bumblebee as he tossed the machine to Optimus. Optimus let a plug jack come out of his wrist and he plugged it into the machine. A visor came over his eyes and code started flying by his eyes. It took a good few minutes before Optimus exhaled and let his shoulders sag. The visor went back up.

“There’s nothing wrong with it,” reported Optimus.

“What you mean there’s nothing wrong with it?” protested Bumblebee. “Energon doesn’t grow that fast! How’s our Energon reserve by the way?”

“We’re three-fourths full,” replied Optimus, “but it’s nothing to panic about. I mean what I say though, I can’t find anything wrong with it.”

“That can’t be right!” argued Ratchet after he overheard the conversation.

“Oh yeah?” countered Jazz. “Then how come I had an Energon field build-up when I stayed in robot mode for too long?”

“You what?!” yelped Ironhide.

“We’re all gonna short out soon,” remarked Jazz. “Take a look at Prime’s left hand.”

“What?!” yelped Optimus. He held his left hand in front of his face. It took a few seconds, but his hand twitched involuntarily. His optics went wide. “Autobots, transform!” he ordered. The Autobots changed into their alternate modes and switched their holo-forms on. “Man, that stung!” gasped Optimus.

“What caused the Energon crystals to grow so fast?” asked Ratchet to Jazz.

“I wish I knew,” replied Jazz. “I didn’t notice the field density until my body started shorting out.”

“You didn’t even check the density until after build up?” yelped Ratchet. “How irresponsible can you get?”

“Hey, lay off!” protested Optimus. “How could anyone guess the density without proper equipment?” That’s when the door to the storage barn opened. Team Dark strode in with a man. The man was in military brass uniform, had silver hair in a military cut, and his right eye was brown and his left eye was green.

“Autobots,” began Shadow, “this is Commander Abraham Tower, commander in chief of the Guardian Unit of Nations.”

“G.U.N?” chuckled Optimus. Commander Tower glared at Optimus, making him subside. “Er, sorry.” Gulped Optimus.

“From what I’ve heard,” rumbled Commander Tower, “you and the other Transformers were fighting your own kind.”

“Er, Transformers?” asked Jazz.

“Our own kind?” quizzed Optimus. “You mean the robot army we fought an hour ago? Sir, we’re not from this planet.”

“Forgive me if I don’t believe you,” remarked Tower. “For all we know, you could be a ruse developed by Eggman to throw us off our guard.”

“Eggman?” chuckled Ironhide.

“Don’t forget,” reminded Ratchet, “he nearly beat us to a pulp with those transforming tanks.”

“Did anyone notice a familiar noise when those tanks transformed?” asked Bumblebee.

“Now that I think of it, yes,” mused Ratchet. “It almost sounded like a t-cog and armor plating adjusting to the new mode.”

“If Eggman’s been taking t-cogs from the dead,” hissed Ironhide, “he and I will have words!”

“The fact that you so easily ignored us,” interjected Commander Tower, “ and that we have no idea what a t-cog is or what the dead have to do with it doesn’t speak well of your defense. Come with us. We’ll get the truth out of you.” The Autobots gulped and followed Commander Tower out of the storage barn. As they were lead to Central Operations, they noticed a lot of soldiers pointing their guns at them.

“Anyone else feel on edge or is it just me?” asked Jazz.

“Don’t you chicken out on us now,” hissed Optimus, “we’re all scared.”

“Here we are,” barked Commander Tower. They were at the door to Central Operations. Commander Tower keyed in the password on the numeric locks and led everyone inside. They walked down the corridors of G.U.N. and soon arrived at the main control room. “This room is lined with lie detectors of all types,” revealed Commander Tower. “They’re switched on at the moment. If you lie, my men shoot you.”

“Good luck,” muttered Ironhide.

“Now, where do you come from?” asked Tower.

“We come from the planet Cybertron,” answered Optimus. A green check mark flashed on the main screen. Commander Tower was puzzled.

“Er, from another planet?” he asked.

“Yep!” confirmed Optimus. “Cybertron’s a beautiful world, especially now that there’s peace between our two factions, the Autobots and the Decepticons.”

“There was a war on your planet?” asked the Commander.

“Yeah,” replied Optimus. “It lasted for four million of your planet’s years and ended when this planet got caught up in the crossfire.”

“When was that?” asked Tower.

“It was in 2007 to 2016,” answered Optimus, “about 2,000 years ago.”

“I was promoted to Corporal during that time and then was promoted to my current rank of Sergeant at the end,” recalled Ironhide.

“I see,” mused Commander Tower.

“Now we enjoy a new age of peace so much,” boasted Optimus, “it’s practically in our C.N.A.!”

“C.N.A.?” asked Rouge.

“It stands for Cybernucleic Acid,” answered Ratchet, “the very backbone of our genetic code.”

“Genetic code?” asked Shadow. “That implies that you grow like biological organisms.”

“We sure do!” confirmed Optimus. The conversation carried on, but no lies were detected.

“That’s enough,” interjected Commander Tower. “Well now, I think we can give you accommodations here.”

“We’d prefer a more remote location,” replied Optimus. “We weren’t supposed to be known by you guys.” As they were talking, Sonic and Amy came into the room.

“Hey, guys!” called Sonic. “What’s shaking?”

“Hey, Sonic!” answered Optimus. “We were just talking about where we should set up a base of operations.”

“Sonic,” recalled Amy, “Didn’t you use to live in a giant cruise plane?”

“A what?” asked Optimus.

“A plane that functioned like a cruise ship,” explained Sonic. “It’s a huge one, but it crashed a hundred years ago. I used to live in it when I was 15. Tails would also hang out there and build about a dozen underground rooms.”

“Er, Tails?” asked Jazz.

“My best bud,” elaborated Sonic, “and a brilliant mechanic. Maybe in the morning, he can help us get you guys settled!”

“That’s great,” agreed Optimus, “but until that time, we kind of need to crash here. Jazz, where did you stash your stasis pod?”

“Behind Club Dancitron,” answered Jazz.

“Go get it and bring it here,” directed Optimus. He turned to the rest of the Autobots. “Let’s go get ours.”

“Where we left them?” asked Ratchet.

“Yep,” replied Optimus.

“On a flying island?” quizzed Ratchet.

“Uh huh!” answered Optimus.

“How?” asked Ratchet.

“With the w…” Optimus didn’t complete the phrase as his optics went wide.

“The what? Warp Ring?” asked Ratchet with a sarcastic smile on his face.

“Scrap!” swore Optimus.

“Warp ring?” asked Sonic.

“When my team and I landed here,” explained Optimus, “we landed on a place called Angel Island.”

“Did you meet a red echidna?” asked Amy.

“You know Knuckles?” quizzed Optimus.

“Yeah,” replied Sonic, “Ol’ Knucklehead and I are friendly rivals. Wish I could say the same for Grouchy here.” He pointed at Shadow, who gave a ‘hmph’ in protest.

“Well, Knuckles opened up a Warp Ring and once we stepped through, it closed automatically,” answered Optimus

“Hoo boy,” sighed Sonic, “Knuckles will give you an earful. Let me call him up.” Sonic took something out from behind his back and pressed on the keypad the something had. It popped open to become a headset. “Call Knuckles,” Sonic said into the microphone. A few rings later and a voice said “Hello?” “Hey Knucklehead,” laughed Sonic.

“Sonic, did you call me just to rile me up?” asked Knuckles.

“No, actually,” replied Sonic. “I heard that you met these guys called the Autobots.”

“How did you find that out?!” yelped Knuckles.

“Optimus and his buddies are here with me,” revealed Sonic. “He wants to talk to you.” He handed the headset to Optimus.

“Hello Knuckles?” asked Optimus.

“Hey, Optimus!” called Knuckles. “Did you find new…er…vehicle modes?”

“Yep, and we cleared the charges on the bot that came here,” replied Optimus.

“Well, that’s good news. So, what’s up?” asked Knuckles.

“Well, we’re under the impression that your, erm, friend, Doctor Eggman is desecrating the final resting places of those that died in our civil war to gain our abilities,” explained Optimus.

“That’s not good. So, why are you calling me?” asked Knuckles.

“We need those pods that we landed in,” replied Optimus.

“Well, that’s easy, just flick the Warp Ring in the air, think of the location, and then step through,” instructed Knuckles.

“That’s the problem. When we used it, it closed automatically and just disappeared,” said Optimus, sheepishly.

“WHAT?!” roared Knuckles. “DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD THEY ARE TO MAKE?! I ONLY HAD THREE!” Knuckles sighed on the other end. “I’ll open another one, but this time; close it on your own!” Knuckles hung up and left Optimus with a ringing in his ears.

“Ow,” he winced.


	7. Chapter 7

Back on Cybertron, in the Council Chambers of Iacon, a cacophony of voices was going on between the mechs and femmes that made up the Council of Cybertron. On the main Central Floor, a femme named Strongarm and her Conjux Endura, Prowl watched as the councilors debated very loudly. Strongarm was heavily built with a Police issue 2016 Chevy Tahoe alternate mode. The doors were her wings, the rear of the vehicle became her feet, the front of the vehicle swung down so that the angle of the window and the roof became her chest. Prowl’s alternate mode was a Police issue 2016 Chevy Impala. His robot mode was similar to Jazz, just in law enforcement colors. Their helmet designs were simplistic and had a set of horns on top. “This is nuts!” whispered Strongarm to Prowl.

“Apparently this is politics,” muttered Prowl.

“Mesdames et Messieurs, S'IL VOUS PLAÎT!!” roared a mech that had the alternate mode of a 2015-spec Audi R18 e-tron quattro. The front wheels and the wheel wells became the shoulders. The top of the car became the robot’s back. The hood became his chest and the rear of the car became his feet. His helmet design had a panel on each side of the head. This mech was Wheeljack in robot mode.

“What?!” called a Councilmech.

“It’s too hot,” replied Wheeljack.

“…Yeah, I suppose it is,” remarked the Councilmech. Wheeljack addressed the assembly.

“Having debated for at least ten cycles,” he called, “the voting shall begin. We shall finally decide on whether or not to send Monsieur Prowl and Madame Strongarm after Optimus to warn him that it was not the Throttlebots that hijacked the _Harbinger_ , but the escaped Decepticon prisoners that broke out of the stockade a solar cycle ago. Remember, the vote must be at least 53% as Iacon must remain neutral. All those in favor, signify by saying aye. All against, say nay.” The councilors agreed and the voting began. “Altihex,” called Wheeljack.

“Altihex says aye,” replied Councilfemme Switchblade.

“Ankmor Park.”

“Ankmor Park says aye,” answered Councilmech Downshift, Tarkana 5’s uncle.

“Axiom Nexus.”

“Axiom Nexus says nay,” grunted Councilfemme Crashcourse.

“Central City.”

“Central city says aye!” rumbled Councilmech Groundpound.

“Crystal City.”

“Crystal City says nay,” called Councilfemme Neela.

“Cyber City.”

“Cyber City says nay,” replied Councilfemme Treble.

“Cybertropolis.”

“Cybertropolis says aye,” affirmed Councilmech Snapshot.

“Gygax.”

“Gygax says nay,” grunted Councilmech Ramrod.

“Hive City.”

“Hive city says nay,” whispered Councilmech Pounce.

“Kalis.”

“Kalis says aye,” called Councilfemme Slicer.

“Kaon.”

“Kaon says nay,” reported Councilmech Cryotek.

“Polyhex.”

“Polyhex says nay...nay,” rasped Councilmech Shrapnel.

“Praxus.”

“Wheeljack,” called Councilmech Blazer, “Praxus abstains, courteously.” Wheeljack stood up in anger, and then coolly sat back down.

“Councilmech Blazer,” said Prowl calmly. His demeanor soon changed. “WHAT IN THE PIT GOES ON IN OUR HOME’S GOVERNMENT?! WHY DOESN’T PRAXUS SIMPLY STAY IN PRAXUS?!”

“Prowl, that was out of line,” rebuked Wheeljack.

“I apologize, Wheeljack,” replied Prowl, “but my home’s councilor, whom I voted for, has been abstaining from crucial votes for a while now; everyone in Praxus is starting to make fun of him.”

“I’m sorry, Prowl,” sighed Blazer, “but the simple fact is that the government of Praxus never sent the delegation any specific instructions.”

“Never?!” yelped Strongarm. “That’s impossible!”

“Have you ever been to a meeting of the Praxian Legislature?” asked Blazer. “They speak very fast, very loud, and very rudely with the result that nothing ever gets done.” He turned to the rest of the council. “I beg the council’s pardon.”

“My sympathies, Blazer,” sighed Wheeljack. “All right, continuing, Simfur.”

“Simfur says aye,” called Councilfemme Flamewar.

“Tarn.”

“Tarn says aye,” reported Councilmech Road Rage.

“Tripedeon.”

“One,” hissed Councilfemme Broadcast, “we’ve already voted that our new name was Trypticon. Two, we respectfully yield to our fair sister state, Tyger Pax.”

“All right, Tyger Pax.”

“Wheeljack,” purred Councilfemme Pastime, “we in the Northern city states have always seen the carnage of war. We have seen a lot of sanctions ignored, a lot of laws disregarded, and a lot of general help being given the cold shoulder. Thanks to the Pax Cybertronia, we have improved social help immensely. That treaty has been the stepping stone that we needed for these stellar cycles of peace. In the interests of peace, Tyger Pax is content to see how the eventual meeting between Optimus’ team and these escaped Decepticons will play out. The vote is nay.”

“Trypticon…” began Broadcast.

“Says nay,” interrupted Wheeljack. “I know. Vos.”

“Vos says aye,” rumbled Councilmech Stock.

“And last, but not least, Yuss.”

“Yuss says aye,” grunted Councilmech Barrel.

“That’s nine for yes,” counted Wheeljack, “nine for no with one abstention. To break the tie, we must hear the Voice of the Council. Governor Straxus, what is your decision?” Straxus was a tall, imposing, blue mech with a metallic goatee and a helmet that looked like a hood. He stood up slowly, cleared his throat, and then spoke.

“Esteemed Gentlefemmes and Gentlemechs,” he began.

“Here we go...go,” whispered Shrapnel to his fellow Insecticons, Bombshell and Kickback.

“As you know,” continued Straxus, “many of us have stood on the tail end of a three million, three hundred forty eight thousand, six hundred twenty three point eight five stellar cycle war. Many city-states were burnt to the ground; I believe I am right in naming Praxus and Crystal City. Those wounds are still being healed but, thanks to the Pax Cybertronia, they are healing rapidly. One of the sanctions forbids us from travelling to worlds that our war touched. Oh yes, we can still keep our colony worlds. Visiting planets like Nebulos, Regulon IV, Femax, and Earth on the other hand, it’s forbidden because those planets may harbor hatred against us. If I recall correctly, it is for our protection as well as theirs that we do not visit. We left some rather big scars on those planets and some of their weaponry has pierced the skin of a Cybertronian.” Shrapnel smirked. “But,” continued Straxus, “we must remember that Optimus heard from Jazz that someone is digging up the resting places of fallen warriors. If that person discovers how we function and combines it with Earth technology, we will face another war, this time against humans. And if these Decepticon radicals strike Earth without any warning, we will surely face our darkest hour. Therefore, I must vote for sending Prowl and Strongarm to Earth to warn Optimus about this development.” Cheers and jeers met the end of that speech.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING, STRAXUS...STRAXUS?!” shrieked Shrapnel. “WE HAVE SANCTIONS PREVENTING THIS...THIS!!”

“Now, hear me out, Shrapnel,” called Straxus, “can we truly let these radicals run around Earth unmolested? We would once again stain our fair planet with the innermost Energon of innocents and innocence. Either we curb this nonsense now, or we damn Cybertron and her people to war once again!” Shrapnel looked coldly at Straxus before sitting back down.

“The bot’s from Polyhex...Polyhex,” he sighed in defeat.

“With the vote being in Prowl and Strongarm’s favor,” called Wheeljack, “we shall prepare the Space Bridge to…”

“Wheeljack, hold on a cycle...cycle,” called Shrapnel. “Of course I understand that Optimus must be warned...warned, but what about Prowl’s job...job? He is chief of the Elite Guard Law Enforcement division in Praxus...Praxus. If Prowl must absolutely go to Earth...Earth, I must make it that he goes alone and Strongarm take his place as Chief of the Praxian Law Enforcement...Enforcement.”

“That’s absurd!” scoffed Strongarm. “We already have Sideswipe!”

“Sideswipe?” gulped Blazer. “Oh dear.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Strongarm.

“Well,” stammered Blazer, “from what I’ve heard, Sideswipe was demoted for letting a notorious perp get through a Space Bridge. From what’s been reported, the perp was Thunderhoof.”

“The crime boss?” asked Prowl.

“The same,” confirmed Blazer.

“Scrap,” swore Prowl.

“In light of this,” called Councilmech Kickback, “I second the motion of Strongarm staying on Cybertron.”

“Kickback,” hissed Wheeljack, “in your zeal to be heard, you seem to forget that a member of a delegation cannot second the delegation’s own motion!”

“Oh…yeah,” muttered Kickback. “Well…I still second it!”

“COUNCILMECH KICKBACK!” snapped Wheeljack.

“Vector Prime!” swore Kickback.

“Kaon seconds,” replied Cryotek.

“You would, you lousy grease spot,” snarled Flamewar.

“All right, since we’re dragging this out, I’ll make the vote quick,” sighed Wheeljack. “Straxus, count ze votes.”

“Of course,” replied Straxus.

“All in favor?” asked Wheeljack.

“Aye!” called part of the council.

“10 say aye,” replied Straxus.

“Against?” asked Wheeljack.

“Nay,” remarked the other part.

“9 say nay,” reported Straxus.

“Hold on,” bid Wheeljack. “Blazer, did you vote?”

“I did,” confirmed Blazer. “I’m sorry, Strongarm, but, in the interests of security, I must insist that you remain in Praxus.” Strongarm sighed.

“If it’s the will of the council, then so be it,” she said.

“I’m gonna miss you, my lovely lady of law enforcement,” mumbled Prowl.

“Be safe on Earth,” replied Strongarm. “Be careful of the ‘Cons.”

“And you watch out for Barricade,” warned Prowl. “Fire him if he goes too far.”

“Will do,” confirmed Strongarm. The council session soon ended and Prowl and Strongarm headed back to their home in Praxus to prepare for Prowl’s departure.


	8. Chapter 8

I think we’ve seen enough Cybertronian politics for one day. Let’s get back to Mobius. It’s dawn in Station Square and the people are waking up. Well, it’s 5:30 am on October 31st and G.U.N. is waking up. In military terms, it’s called oh dark thirty. All soldiers were woken up and got ready for training. Ironhide and Ratchet had already adjusted to Mobian Time, so they got up too. They noticed that the other Autobots hadn’t woken up yet, so Ironhide got an idea. He keyed in something on the consoles attached to the recharge berths and pressed the big red button. A few seconds later, Optimus, Jazz, Bumblebee, and Cliffjumper woke to the sound of _Reveille_ blasting into their audio sensors. They sprang out of the recharge berths and readied their weapons. “Was that the alarm?!” asked Optimus. “Are we under attack?!”

“That was _Reveille_ ,” explained Ironhide. “It was used by the American military to wake up personnel at 5:30 am.”

“…No one’s attacking?” asked Optimus.

“Nope,” replied Ironhide. “It’s morning on an alien world!”

“IRONHIDE!” protested the recently awoken Autobots.

“Come on!” urged Ironhide. “Let’s go see it!”

“See what?” asked Bumblebee as he put his guns away.

“An alien sunrise!” explained Ironhide. “Ear…Mobian sunrises are the best!” Optimus sighed.

“All right, fine,” he griped. “Autobots, follow Ironhide.”

“Where are you going?” barked a voice. It was Commander Tower.

“I’m just taking the young’uns to see a sunrise,” replied Ironhide.

“Not so fast,” snapped Tower. “I still have questions for you.”

“I can answer all your questions,” answered Ratchet. “Just let them see the sunrise and humor an old mech at the same time.”

“Hey!” protested Ironhide. “You’re no new-build yourself!”

“Look, these bots are not exactly combat, medically, or scientifically savvy,” remarked Ratchet.

“Hey!” yelped Optimus. “I’ll have you know that I was the best data clerk in Iacon!”

“You won’t find a better source of knowledge than me,” assured Ratchet. “Just let the bots explore.” Commander Tower thought for a few seconds.

“All right,” he decided. “After that, return here so we can get the equipment you need to make your base.”

“Got it,” agreed Optimus. “All right Autobots, let’s rise and ride!” Everyone in the room blinked at Optimus. “What?” he asked.

“Dude, that was weak,” sighed Jazz.

“You’re still trying to find a rallying cry?” asked Ironhide.

“Oh, come on!” protested Optimus. “How could you not be inspired?!”

“Needs work,” observed Cliffjumper. The bots transformed and were led to the exit of the base. Ironhide led them through the woods and to a cliff edge. The sky had a few clouds, but that only added to the effect of the beautiful sight the Autobots saw.

“You know,” sighed Ironhide as he transformed, “when I came here, I was so wrapped up in the war, I didn’t have time to appreciate the planet’s natural beauty. I always said that before I fade to gunmetal grey, I would see the sights of Earth again and appreciate them.”

“I can see why,” replied Optimus. “Cybertron’s sunrises never took this shade of purple. This is so beautiful! No bots can say that they can replicate this. No bots should be able to. These colors can only exist in nature.”

“Like Master Yoketron said,” recalled Jazz, “‘natural beauty can never be artificially made.’”

“And all it took for me to understand that was travelling to an alien world,” chuckled Optimus.

“Checking out the sunrise?” asked a voice. The Autobots turned around and saw Sonic right behind them. “Nice to see, isn’t it?”

“For us,” remarked Optimus, “it’s breath-taking. Try to imagine yourself as a visitor to an alien world. Seeing this is the most beautiful moment in our lives.”

“Yeah,” sighed Sonic. “I always wanted to see if a Halloween sunrise would be any different.”

“Hallo-what?” asked Optimus. Ironhide was suddenly intrigued.

“Do you guys still dress up in costumes?” quizzed Ironhide. “Do you still know what trick or treating is? Do you still have pumpkins to carve?”

“Er, yes on all counts. Why?” asked Sonic.

“Just checking,” replied Ironhide. He suddenly got an idea. “Why don’t I teach you bots how to carve Jack O’ Lanterns?”

“Jack O Whats?” inquired Optimus.

“I’ll show you!” cheered Ironhide. “Sonic, where’s the nearest pumpkin patch?”

“About a mile down the hill,” replied Sonic as he pointed behind them.

“Let’s get a good pumpkin on the way back,” declared Ironhide.

“What’s a pumpkin?” asked Optimus as the Autobots transformed.

“It’s a round vegetable,” explained Ironhide as they drove down with Sonic in Optimus’ cockpit, “orange in color. People on Halloween would hollow out the pumpkin and carve a face onto it so a candle would be placed inside to light it up.”

“What’s the purpose?” asked Bumblebee.

“It’s just a decoration,” replied Ironhide. They finally found the pumpkin patch Sonic talked about. “Those are pumpkins,” said Ironhide.

“Those things?” asked Jazz.

“You’ve been on this planet longer than the others,” quizzed Ironhide, “and you never heard of pumpkins?”

“I spent most of my time investigating who’s digging up the dead and jamming at Dancitron!” protested Jazz.

“Ah well,” sighed Ironhide. “Spread out and find the right pumpkin.”

“What’s the way to know what the right pumpkin is?” asked Optimus.

“It’s just gotta have the right sound,” replied Ironhide as he tapped some pumpkins.

“Should they sound like someone digging?” asked Cliffjumper.

“Not to my knowledge,” answered Ironhide.

“That’s no pumpkin,” observed Sonic. “Follow me. Stay down.” The Autobots followed Sonic to the source of the noise. It was a fat human with a beaky nose and a greasy mustache in a flying vehicle that had a digging attachment on its underside. It finally extracted a cog like device from the hill.

“That’s a t-cog!” whispered Ironhide.

“A what?” asked Sonic.

“It stands for transformation cog,” explained Optimus, “a vital part of Cybertronian bio-mechanics. It’s how we switch from robot to vehicle.”

“How easy are they for you to make?” asked Sonic.

“We can’t,” growled Ironhide. “It isn’t technology, it’s biology. It’s an organ and a replacement requires a transplant. Stealing a t-cog is considered a grave sin in Cybertronian culture.”

“Let’s have a little chat with him,” said Optimus.

“You read my mind,” agreed Sonic. The group marched up to Eggman. Optimus cleared his throat to get Eggman’s attention. Eggman whirled around and saw the group.

“Blast it, Sonic!” he snapped. “I hadn’t even begun my latest evil scheme and already you’re here to thwart me?!”

“I just wanted to introduce you to my new friends,” chuckled Sonic with his usual grin. “Meet the Autobots!” Optimus stepped forward.

“I’m Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots,” he introduced. “This is my first lieutenant, Jazz, my heavy weapons specialist, Ironhide, my assassin, Cliffjumper, and my scout, Bumblebee.” He glanced at the t-cog. “Did you get written permission from the bot that belongs to?”

“…No, but…,” stammered Eggman.

“Then you can’t have it,” interrupted Optimus. “Put it back.”

“I gotta say,” snarked Bumblebee, “that digging equipment you’re using isn’t very sophisticated.”

“SHUT UP!” protested Eggman. “My equipment is far superior to any you’ve got! I don’t even see a shovel on your person!”

“Don’t need one,” remarked Ironhide. The holo-forms disappeared to Eggman’s shock.

“It’s still new to me,” replied Sonic. Eggman heard the Autobots transform and saw them walk out from the trees in robot mode. Eggman’s eyes were as wide as dinner plates.

“Are you the robots that decimated my army?” he asked.

“We got rid of more than one tenth,” recalled Bumblebee. “We easily took three fourths.”

“You know,” gulped Eggman, “I didn’t bring any weapons with me. I’m just going to put this back.” He set the t-cog back into the hill and started flying away. “Have a happy Halloween,” he said. As Eggman disappeared, the Autobots relaxed and headed back to the pumpkin patch.

“That’s twenty Shanix you owe me,” said Jazz to Ironhide.

“What?!” yelped Ironhide. “No! The deal was that Eggman would steal our t-cogs while we were online! He stole from a corpse!”

“Semantics,” argued Jazz. They soon found a pumpkin and loaded it into Ironhide’s vehicle mode. Once they secured it, the Autobots headed back to G.U.N. HQ with Ironhide explaining Halloween. Ratchet met them at the front with Commander Tower.

“Your chief medical officer was very informative, Optimus,” he explained. “Thanks to him, we now know things that we originally didn’t. For example, we dug up a giant ore that took the shape of a blue crystal. Ratchet identified it as your fuel source, Energon. He also told us how the radiation it puts out can be harmful in large doses and Mobius has a very high Energon density.”

“That’s right,” replied Optimus. “We may need Energon for power, but this is too much of a good thing. After a few minutes exposure, our robot forms will start to short out. Your planet is an unusual one to us. Energon ore has a high radiation density, but it’s a feast to us.”

“Ratchet also showed us how you refine Energon into a liquid form,” continued Commander Tower. “Why the color is pink, I’ll never know.”

“We can’t figure it out ourselves,” muttered Bumblebee.

“He also told us about how he and Ironhide also came here during the 21st century when this planet was called Earth during your war with the Decepticons,” continued the Commander.

“I haven’t told him about the Pax Cybertronia,” supplied Ratchet, “or how we function.”

“I assume that the refining demonstration used the Energon ore they had,” guessed Jazz.

“Indeed, it did,” confirmed Ratchet. “We have more than enough Energon to keep us going for a week.”

“In that case,” chuckled Optimus, “trick or treat!”

“Where did you learn that?” asked Tower.

“Ironhide told us about Halloween on the way back after our first face to face meeting with Eggman,” explained Bumblebee.

“We even got a good pumpkin to carve a Jack O’ Lantern!” cheered Ironhide as he fished out the pumpkin from the shotgun seat. “Where’s a good table and knife?”

“Over in the mess hall’s kitchen,” replied Tower. “I think Mike will be eager to show you. Miss Rose is there in costume as well.”

“Let’s go then!” called Optimus. “Autobots, let’s roll to the mess!”

“Ew!” gagged the Autobots.

“Yeah, that does sound a bit dirty,” gulped Optimus. They soon arrived at the mess hall where Amy was talking to Mike the painted turtle. Amy was in an orange sleeveless ball gown with black tulle around the top, waist, and bottom of the dress. She wore black, arm length gloves with orange tulle at the arm and wrist and had an orange stripe going from the pointer, middle and ring fingers to the top. Her quills were done up in a small ponytail and had a tiara on her head. She saw the Autobots and their pumpkin.

“Planning on a Jack O’ Lantern guys?” she asked.

“That IS the intent,” replied Optimus. “Er, what are you supposed to be?”

“I’m the Princess of Halloween!” announced Amy. “I would be Queen, but I haven’t married my prince yet!”

“She means me,” whispered Sonic to the Autobots.

“Ah, one of those girls,” said Ironhide in a slightly louder whisper.

“One of what girls?!” snarled Amy as she summoned her hammer.

“I didn’t mean anything!” yelped Ironhide. Amy hmphed and turned around.

“If it’s a Jack O’ Lantern you want,” cheered Mike, “it’s a Jack O’ Lantern you’ll get!”

“I’ll get the bowl!” called Amy.

“Mind if I get a knife?” asked Ironhide.

“Get a serrated one,” directed Mike, “they’re hanging on that rack over there.”

“I’ll get a marker,” announced Ratchet.

“And we need those, why?” asked Optimus.

“You’ll see!” called Ironhide as he got the knife.

“All right,” instructed Mike. “Put them all here!” They put the materials onto a table. “First off,” said Mike, “we need to draw the face to carve. For first timers, I recommend the classic jagged mouth.” He drew the triangular eyes upside down, a triangle nose, and a jagged, toothy grin. “Next, we need to hollow out the pumpkin. So we cut a hole into the top.” He started cutting.

“I can see why you’d need a serrated knife,” observed Jazz.

“Yep,” confirmed Mike. “We need a saw like motion for something this tough.” He finally made the hole and started lifting the stem off. “Oh yeah!” he said. It came off completely with some innards hanging from it. “Oh yeah!”

“Vector Prime!” said Jazz in disgust.

“Oh, Primus!” gagged Optimus. “Ew!” Mike handed Optimus the top to sniff. Optimus did so and reeled back in disgust. “Ew!” Mike cleaned the innards off the top and put them in the bowl.

“Now here’s the tricky part,” he continued, “getting all the guts out.” He used the spoon to scrape the inside of the pumpkin. “This is always the hardest part. You don’t want to scrape too much of the insides.”

“Why not?” asked Optimus.

“It needs to hold a candle,” explained Amy.

“I see,” realized Optimus. “Go too deep, you run the risk of making too it thin and easy to collapse.” Mike finally got all the guts out and started carving the face. As he did so, Commander Tower came in with a bunch of people. They were Mobians and were led by Tails.

“Autobots,” he called, “since you’ve become friends with Sonic and Amy, I’d like to introduce you to their friends. We’ll start with this kid, the one who found your stasis pods when they were in the atmosphere.”

“I’m Miles Prower, but you can call me Tails,” introduced Tails.

“I’m Shadow the Hedgehog,” growled Shadow.

“I’m Rouge the bat,” purred Rouge.

“E-123 Omega, reporting,” droned Omega.

“I’m Espio the Chameleon,” rasped a purple chameleon in ninja gear.

“Call me Vector!” rumbled a crocodile with headphones.

“I’m Charmy!” buzzed a young bee in a flight helmet and goggles. He flew around Bumblebee. “Wow! Another bee! Too bad you’re so short.” Bumblebee grinned.

“You’d be surprised at what I’m capable of,” he chuckled.

“I’m Cream,” squeaked a young rabbit. “This is my mother, Vanilla, and my best friend, Cheese.”

“Nice to meet you,” said Vanilla politely.

“My name is Big,” boomed a giant lavender cat, “and this is my friend Froggy.” He showed the frog in question.

“You met me before,” chuckled Knuckles, “I’m Knuckles. Er, what was that universal greeting again?”

“I’m Amy Rose,” called Amy as she curtsied.

“And I’m Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog!” cheered Sonic as he gave a thumbs up.

“Nice to meet you all,” bid Optimus. “I’m Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots and Cybertron.”

“I’m First Lieutenant Jazz,” responded Jazz, “second in command of this team.”

“I’m Master Sergeant Ironhide, the heavy weapons specialist,” introduced Ironhide.

“I’m Corporal Bumblebee, the scout,” called Bumblebee.

“I’m Private First Class Cliffjumper, the assassin,” replied Cliffjumper.

“And I’m Chief Medical Officer Ratchet, the field medic,” remarked Ratchet.

“Excuse me, Mr. Prime,” called Cream, “but Commander Tower said that you were more than meets the eye.”

“And he would be right,” replied Optimus. “Let’s step outside so we can show you.” The Autobots led the group outside. Apparently the media was alerted as reporters from all sides were asking the Autobots questions.

“ONE AT A TIME!” shouted Ironhide as he fired a couple of shots into the air. The crowd went silent.

“Thank you, Ironhide,” sighed Optimus. He turned to address the media. “Since our presence is global. I might as well say ‘greetings’ to you, Mobius. I am Optimus Prime. These are my men from my home planet of Cybertron. We may look like you, but I can assure you we’re not. You see, we’re robots in disguise! For most of Mobius, from what I’ve gathered, robots are considered bad. That would be this Eggman character who’s also wronging us by disgracing our name. Before I explain, I must ask that everyone step back.” The crowd was confused but complied. “Okay, stop!” instructed Optimus as the crowd left enough space for their vehicle modes to come out and change. “Autobots, convert to robot mode!” ordered Optimus. The holo-forms disappeared and the vehicles turned into robots. “Ta da!” cheered Optimus. That’s when the press conference really began. The Autobots answered the questions to the best of their abilities.

“There is one thing,” called a Skunk Newswoman from Mobius News Network, “you said that you were trying to make a base of operations. How available is it to the public?”

“It’s not,” countered Optimus. “This base must be kept secret. Heck, we were supposed to be secret. The only reason you guys knew was because G.U.N. helped us fight Eggman’s forces last night.” The media understood and believed that it was time to pack up. Once G.U.N escorted the reporters out, the Autobots let themselves fall to the ground. “Well,” sighed Optimus, “so much for robots in disguise.”

“Autobots,” called Commander Tower, “we have the equipment you need for a new base. Since Sonic is offering you his old place, he’ll lead the way.”

“Sounds awesome!” cheered Optimus. “All right bots, let’s move and groove!” No one said a word. “Oh, come on! That was my best one!”

“Quit while you’re ahead, Prime,” advised Ratchet.

“No way!” protested Optimus. “I’m gonna find an awesome catchphrase!”

“Let’s just go,” growled Shadow. The Autobots transformed and everyone fell in behind Sonic.

“Wait a minute!” called Amy as she brought the Jack O’ Lantern. “Ironhide, do you mind if I ride with you?”

“Don’t mind at all, little lady,” assured Ironhide as he opened the passenger side door. He helped Amy in as if she were a real princess. Amy buckled up and set the Jack O’ Lantern in her lap. Ironhide shut the door and got into the driver’s seat.

“All right guys!” called Sonic. “Follow me!” The convoy started off and followed Sonic. Amy wanted to know more about the Transformers, so she started talking.

“So,” she began, “what’s life like on Cybertron?”

“A bit hectic, nowadays,” replied Ironhide. “We’re still recovering from that war we talked about in the press conference. A few bots are getting up in arms saying that the Matrix chose the wrong bot to be this age’s Prime.”

“The what?” quizzed Amy.

“The Autobot Matrix of Leadership,” explained Ironhide. “It contains the collective wisdom of all of Cybertron’s leaders from the Thirteen to Optimus. The Matrix itself is the one that chooses who will lead Cybertron. Honestly, I see a lot of potential in Optimus. That could be because we’re family friends.”

“Really?” asked Amy.

“Really,” confirmed Ironhide. “My wife, Chromia, was a childhood friend to Optimus’ mother, Soleanna Pax.”

“We have a city named Soleanna!” revealed Amy.

“No kidding?” asked Ironhide. “She’ll be tickled to hear that.”

“I wish I could meet her,” sighed Amy. “On another note, you said you were married.”

“Yep!” replied Ironhide. “Chromia is the most beautiful femme you’d ever lay optics on. Deep blue chassis, excellent in hand to hand combat, shooting skills that rival mine, the greatest wit in the universe, I consider myself a lucky mech to marry someone like her.”

“You really dote on her, don’t you?” observed Amy.

“Of course I do!” remarked Ironhide. “We’re happy together! We even had a baby.”

“A baby?” quizzed Amy. “What’s the baby called?”

“Her name was Firestar,” explained Ironhide. “When we were fighting the ‘Cons, we always had a tag team attack, the triple blazer.”

“Was?” asked Amy. Ironhide hoped she hadn’t noticed. It was a painful subject for him. But, he had to tell someone. Maybe a complete stranger would ease his pain a bit.

“Firestar died during the final battles here,” he revealed. “It was in the capital of the old United States of America, Washington D.C. We had received a call that a Decepticon invasion force was outside the White House, where the leader of the U.S., the President, lived. My squadron, the Wreckers, was sent to get the President and his family out of there.” The scene started shimmering to a wavy flashback.


	9. Chapter 9

The scene changed from Mobius to Washington D.C. of 2014. Ironhide used to transform into a 2015 Dodge Grand Caravan. His wife, Chromia, transformed into a deep blue Harley Davidson Street Glide Special. The wheels were on her back. The front of the motorcycle served as her chest unit. Her exhaust pipes were rifles that she could wield in one hand each. The side bags served as hip mounted battery packs for the rifles if power is too low for them. Firestar transformed into a red Harley Davidson Wide Glide. The fuel tank served as shoulder pads. The exhaust pipe served as an arm mounted flamethrower. The rear wheel well served as kneepads while the rear wheel split and attached to her hips. The front wheel folded into her back. A frog like robot that transformed into a 2015 Hummer H2 was shouting orders to the group. Ironhide still narrated what was going on. “We had just gotten President Obama and his family out of the White House. Springload, a Decepticon turned Autobot, ordered us to take down any Decepticons that would try and finish the job there. We obeyed. Springload followed the rest of the Wreckers. We stood guard. It was then Firestar saw something. ‘What in the Pit?’ she muttered. ‘Dad, I saw something over at the Washington Monument. I think we should check it out.’

“‘Not without backup,’ I replied. ‘Chromia, I think you should go with her.’

“‘Will do,’ she answered. The two headed in that direction and hid themselves. From what Chromia told me, they heard Cyclonus, the leader of the Seekers, talking with Starscream and Skywarp, more streamlined Seekers. Starscream and Skywarp turned into F-35 fighter jets while Cyclonus turned into a RAH-66 Comanche helicopter. The five helicopter blades turned into two machete-like swords. Swords are a Seeker’s main weapon.

“‘Is everyone preparing for the deed?’ asked Cyclonus.

“‘We are,’ answered Starscream.

“‘Good,’ replied Cyclonus.

“‘You know,’ remarked Skywarp, ‘the Seekers would have a better chance of victory if Starscream would just…well…you know…’

“‘Summon him?!’ yelped Starscream in terror.

“‘Just once,’ assured Skywarp, ‘just once and you can go back to normal.’

“‘Normal?!’ gasped Starscream. ‘There’s no normal! I don’t even know what normal is!’ He grabbed Skywarp by the shoulders at that point. ‘Every solar cycle, I live with a beast raging inside of me!’

“‘I taught you those exercises so you can control him,’ growled Cyclonus.

“‘Control?!’ repeated Starscream. ‘There is no control! There’s only anarchy and chaos and the whole universe writhing in pain!’

“‘But he could benefit us if you would try!’ urged Skywarp.

“‘Try?!’ argued Starscream. ‘There is no try! There is only the insane light!’

“‘Give in, Starscream!’ insisted Skywarp. ‘Give in for me! And Cyclonus! And the Seekers! And the Decepticons!’ Starscream shuddered.

“‘I left that Covenant-thumping lunatic behind me a long time ago!’ he declared. ‘You will not find him here!’ Unbeknownst to Chromia and Firestar, a Seeker named Thundercracker was behind them. The only point they heard him was when he spoke.

“‘Come, ladies, your passado,’ he commented. The ladies turned and dodged his blade. ‘I said passado, not retreat.’ The other Seekers heard him.

“‘Autobot spies!’ called Starscream.

“‘Kill them!’ ordered Cyclonus. They swarmed the two as they headed to my position. With four flying Decepticons, we almost died. It was then when Springload arrived. He could jump pretty high and bring the Seekers down to our level. It was then that Skywarp punctured two Energon cubes and let the contents spill all over the area. Firestar was flung into the middle of the reflecting pool. Starscream fired from one of his null rays and the shot hit the Energon. The place went up in flames quickly. Firestar could withstand the heat, but it wouldn’t be long before she went offline. She was battling one of the Seekers, I couldn’t tell who, when Chromia and I charged towards the flames.

“‘Stop!’ demanded Springload. ‘The flames are too hot! We have to get out of here!’

“‘Are you still looking for Doradus?!’ protested Chromia. ‘My daughter’s in there!’ I charged towards the flames, and then Springload held me back.

“‘Let me go!’ I snarled. ‘I have to rescue her!’

“‘You’re not going anywhere, Ironhide!’ declared Springload. ‘The unit is more important than a single soldier!’ It was then that the Seeker…the Seeker…,” Ironhide couldn’t continue as he was trying to hold back tears. The scene faded back to Mobius. Amy now knew why she felt an aura of weariness from him.

“What happened to Springload?” she asked.

“He was court martialed for leaving a bot behind,” revealed Ironhide, “and stripped of rank. His sentence was life imprisonment. I no longer need to worry about him, but I still want to know which Seeker killed her and why he did it.”

“No revenge, I hope?” gulped Amy.

“I went down that path once,” shuddered Ironhide. “Almost lost Chromia in the process. Never again.”

“Here we are!” called Sonic. The convoy stopped and the more alien members changed back into bipedal mode. The place was…interesting to say the least.

“What a piece of junk!” whined Bumblebee. “We’ll never have a decent sized base!”

“What are you talking about?” quizzed Sonic. “Just pick a spot and expand.”

“But what if someone has claimed that spot?” asked Optimus.

“Optimus, on this planet, it’s first come, first serve,” replied Sonic. “When I owned the place, I only had the land it sat on and the front yard.”

“So, you’re saying that now we have the place, we can include the whole mountain area and forest behind it?” quizzed Optimus.

“Yep!” confirmed Sonic. “There’s even a grassy plain behind the forest.”

“And you said we wouldn’t have a decent sized base,” snarked Optimus to Bumblebee.

“I may have been too quick to judge,” remarked Bumblebee.

“Ratchet, with the materials we have,” inquired Optimus, “how big a base do we get?”

“Ideally,” figured Ratchet, “we could get a good chunk of the forest and the mountain area.”

“Then let’s set up the main command center first,” declared Optimus. “That plane should work.” There was a lot of hustle and bustle as the convoy unloaded and put equipment inside the plane. Things are about to get hectic in Autobot HQ.


	10. Chapter 10

It took a few weeks to finally complete the base for the Autobots. Once finished, the Autobots were studying up on their new home. The Space Colony ARK intrigued them, so they asked G.U.N. for a tour of the facility. They accepted the request and had Team Dark be their guides. They also posted a liaison with the Autobots, General Alexis Silverwing, the fruit bat. Shadow led them around the halls. They were big enough for the Autobots to walk around in robot mode and the Energon density wasn’t as bad as on the surface of Mobius. As such, they could stay in robot mode for a longer period of time. Shadow was still talking about how power works on the ARK. “As such,” he lectured, “the main power system is backed up by several redundant power sources so it leaves enough for auxiliary power to take over when needed. Mind you, G.U.N gave this station a major refit, so we’re running on main power and partial auxiliary.”

“That’s all nice and good,” drawled Ironhide, “but what happens when a space barnacle attaches itself to this place’s hull?” Shadow blinked.

“I don’t see too many barnacles in space,” he rasped.

“That’s what I said,” muttered Ironhide, “until one of those suckers started eating away at my drop-ship’s main plasma core over Femax.” Alexis had something on her mind and had to say it.

“Where did Professor Gerald get the money for this space station?” she quizzed. “Was there a sale at Best Tech fifty years ago?”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” assured Rouge. “Professor Gerald managed to get the money from the government after showing off his project and getting funding to create an immortal weapon. The final result was Shadow.” Alexis turned to the Autobots.

“And you guys? How did you get here?” she asked.

“I’m the commander in chief of my planet’s armed forces,” answered Optimus. “Even the space navy is under my command. It was easy to secure short ranged travel pods to go after Jazz.”

“I did have to go through some finagling,” admitted Jazz.

“I’m in the wrong line of work,” sighed Alexis.

“Alert,” came a booming voice, “power is out in junction 2B.”

“I keep telling people to watch that place!” growled Shadow. “Junction 2B is where power passes through to the weapons systems.”

“Where is it?” asked Ratchet. Shadow led them to another hall and pointed to a covered area. He slid the panel off and revealed the circuitry. Ratchet rubbed his hands together and shot lightning into the junction. The junction box glowed behind the circuits. “Clear,” joked Ratchet.

“Space Colony ARK now operating at peak efficiency,” boomed the computer.

“I never heard that in a while,” chuckled Shadow. He turned to Ratchet. “Nicely done.”

“Hey!” cheered Rouge. “You got a compliment from Shadow!”

“You can shoot lightning out of your hands?!” Optimus asked what every Autobot had on their mind.

“Can’t you?” asked Ratchet. It took a while for Optimus to speak.

“No!” he finally squeaked.

“What, you can’t shoot lightning?” asked Shadow. Optimus looked at Shadow.

“And you can?!” he yelped.

“Of course, I can,” boasted Shadow. “I’m Shadow the Hedgehog. I’m the Ultimate Lifeform.” He replaced the panel.

“Shouldn’t there be a team of scientists here?” asked Ironhide.

“There was,” remarked Shadow, “fifty years ago, but after an incident on the ARK, no one wants to go near it.”

“Incident?” quizzed Jazz.

“We’re not at liberty to say,” said Shadow. Optimus found it as odd.

“Ooohhhkay…” he muttered. All of a sudden, alarms started blaring.

“Alert! Eggman Attack in Emerald Town!” boomed the computer. “Transformer capabilities confirmed!”

“Why do people call us ‘Transformers’?” asked Bumblebee to no one in particular.

“I have the Warp Ring,” called Optimus. “Autobots, let’s roll to the rescue!”

“I think the Protectobots are using that,” interjected Ratchet as his optic twitched.

“Ah, man!” moaned Optimus. “Let’s just go.” He flicked the Warp Ring into the air. It expanded and the Autobots transformed and sped through. Team Dark and Alexis followed after. They soon arrived at Emerald Town, in the capital city of Central City. The robot was unusual to say the least. It had four legs, a shell like body, and six metallic tendrils on the front, smashing the streets. Team Sonic was fighting the thing but couldn’t get near enough to hit it. The tendrils were making Team Sonic keep their distance. “Having trouble, Sonic?” called Optimus.

“So,” cackled a voice, “our extraterrestrial visitors are here to see me conquer this planet!” Eggman descended on his Egg-mobile. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Not exactly the word I’d use to describe that monster,” remarked Jazz.

“I thought I made myself clear on Halloween that taking T-cogs was wrong!” snarled Optimus.

“You machines act like you have culture and sentience,” dismissed Eggman, “but in the end, you’re nothing more than gears, circuit boards, wires, transistors, and a central processor. You’re just machines. I have my freedom to do what I want while you are enslaved to whatever master programmed you.”

“Cybertronians are masters of their own fate,” growled Optimus. “As a species, we were enslaved to these creatures called the Quintessons. We won our freedom in battle and we will continue to defend that freedom and continue to speak of freedom as it is the right of all sentient beings!”

“You’ve clearly been infected with a virus,” sighed Eggman. “My new robot will take care of that. Egg Robo-Smasher, show them what you’re made of!”

“Egg Robo-Smasher,” droned the robot, “transform.” The legs slid to the back of the shell body and made it stand on its rear. Arms revealed themselves from holes where the armpit should be. The tendril housing flipped to reveal the head, which had a visor over the optics and a mouth guard. The transformation was slow and deliberate.

“Not impressed,” jeered Optimus.

“We can do it better!” called Bumblebee. “Like this! BUMBLEBEE, TRANSFORM!” Bumblebee’s transformation was slow and deliberate like the Egg Robo-Smasher’s.

“Why don’t we all show him?” suggested Optimus to the Autobots. “Cliffjumper, you’re next. Then Ironhide, Ratchet, Jazz, and then me.”

“Got it. CLIFFJUMPER, TRANSFORM!”

“IRONHIDE, TRANSFORM!”

“RATCHET, TRANSFORM!”

“JAZZ, TRANSFORM!”

“OPTIMUS PRIME, TRANSFORM!” The transformation sequences ended after a few minutes. “Unlike your robots,” declared Optimus, “when we say ‘TRANSFORM!’ we put some life into it!”

“Targets are now at optimum vulnerability,” reported the Egg Robo-Smasher. “Ready to begin at your order, Doctor.”

“The order is given!” cheered Eggman. The tendrils snaked themselves around the Autobots and buried their ends into the backs of their heads. “You see, when I named this thing,” boasted Eggman, “I thought that a little freedom mental smashing would help you serve me better.” He sees the Autobots struggling. “Fighting it won’t help. Just relax and let that silly concept of freedom escape your minds.” Jazz heard that and got an idea. He did relax, true, but a strange low humming could be heard. The Autobots looked at Jazz as he was the one humming. It took a while, but Optimus got the idea. He soon relaxed and joined in the humming.

“What are they doing?!” asked Knuckles.

“Some Robo-voodoo?” remarked Sonic. “I don’t know!”

“Guys, look!” called Tails. He pointed to the tendrils that had Optimus and Jazz in their respective clutches. The tendrils were getting loose. Once he had enough arm room, Optimus thrust his hands into the air. The vehicle mode flight generators had a split and they separated on a mechanism that shot two sticks into the air. The sticks let metal plates hover near them and blue colored energy held the metal plates in the shape of an axe blade. Optimus then put the two axes together and made a long handled, double headed axe. With it, he chopped all six tendrils off the Egg Robo-Smasher.

“Connections to all targets lost,” droned the robot. “Targets are not under your control, Doctor.”

“Impossible!” shrieked Eggman.

“Nope. Simply processor over matter,” called Jazz.

“It wasn’t simple for me,” remarked Optimus. “I thought it was all in the hand motions.”

“Nah, in the head,” corrected Jazz.

“BAH!” snapped Eggman. “If I can’t control you, I’ll simply destroy you! Egg Robo-Smasher, tear them apart!”

“Acknowledged,” confirmed the Egg Robo-Smasher. The robot brought a fist down but missed the Autobots.

“Ironhide,” called Ratchet, “I need to perform an extraction. Can you anesthetize the patient?”

“Would plasma work?” asked Ironhide.

“Perfect!” replied Ratchet. “The patient needs to breathe it in.”

“One shot to the head, coming up!” cheered Ironhide. He took the arm cannons off and combined them into a rocket launcher. One pull to the trigger, and a plasma pellet knocked the enemy robot on its back.

“Cliffjumper, Bumblebee, restrain the patient!” directed Ratchet.

“All right,” replied Cliffjumper, “but I must warn you, the work environment will be hazardous.”

“It’s all right,” assured Ratchet, “I’m an emergency vehicle!”

“In that case,” called Bumblebee, “let’s do it!” Bumblebee and Cliffjumper rubbed their hands together and slammed their right hands on the ground. That’s when crystals of two different colors and lights restrained the limbs of the robot. Bumblebee and Cliffjumper could alter the intensity of one aspect of Energon to make new types of Energon. Bumblebee specialized in Light Energon, the blood of their creator, and Cliffjumper specialized in Dark Energon, the blood of the Destroyer. The crystal restraints held the robot down as Ratchet let a small device pop out of his wrist. He jumped on the robot and cut into it with a laser from his wrist device. He then made two horizontal cuts to make the robot’s chassis peel away. Once he opened up, Ratchet got inside and started tossing parts out.

“Let’s see,” he muttered, “…don’t need this…don’t need that. That’s a safety hazard. How did a magazine get in there? AHA!” He popped out with the t-cog in hand. “The operation was a success! But I couldn’t save the patient.” It was true. The robot would no longer move. “He was a brave soul,” sighed Ratchet as he put a hand over his spark.

“NOOO!!” shouted Eggman. “Mark my words, Optimus Prime; you have not seen the last of Dr. Eggman!” He flew off, leaving the robot behind.

“Looks like the day is saved,” chuckled Sonic.

“Eggman even tries to conquer on a day like today,” sighed Tails. “How gauche.”

“Why?” asked Bumblebee.

“It’s December 25th,” explained Knuckles. “Eggman shouldn’t have attacked today.”

“December 25th?” quizzed Optimus. Something stirred in the Autobots’ memory banks until they came across the date’s meaning. “Christmas Day?! Scrap! Autobots, hands up. How many forgot to do their Christmas shopping?” All Autobots raised their hands. “I thought so. We’ve been so caught up in getting our base finished that we forgot to be charitable to each other!”

“Wait,” interjected Sonic, “so, you guys don’t know about Halloween, but you kick yourselves when you forget the Christmas shopping?”

“Christmas is one of the few Earth holidays we celebrate on Cybertron,” explained Optimus. “With its message of charity, it’s something the Autobots can get behind.” That’s when an idea hit Optimus in the face. “Shadow,” he said as he transformed, “is there any place in Central City that could benefit from robot parts?”

“There is one area,” rasped Shadow. “Robot parts are the main source of income to those people. It always gets a food donation whenever the food supplies in that area are too low. Selling robot parts is the only way they can feed their families.”

“How well would that area take an entire robot carcass?” asked Optimus.

“It should feed them for about 10 weeks,” replied Shadow. “The max they got out of robot part sales is 5.”

“Then get a convoy prepped to get the Egg Robo-Smasher to that area. We’ll follow you,” directed Optimus. Shadow arched an eye ridge, but at the convincing of General Silverwing, he made the call. The convoy arrived, loaded the robot onto a flat bed, and led the Autobots to Mission Street. The people there goggled at the robot being given. The Autobots transformed back into robot mode and unloaded the Egg Robo-Smasher from the flatbed. “People of Mission Street,” called Optimus, “I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots of Cybertron. We have heard of how much you need parts to sell in exchange for food. Today, on this day, we bring you something that may please you. Recently, Dr. Eggman tried to attack Central City with a robot that almost violated our minds. We defeated it with the help of Sonic and have brought you the robot and the parts we extracted from it. We offer it as a Christmas present.” Everyone cheered. The Autobots were surprised. “Er, we’re glad you like it,” stammered Optimus. The people of Mission Street were still cheering until someone noticed a Mobian coming from behind the crowd. The crowd quieted down and stepped aside to make a path for the newcomer. It was a female Mobian, with her animal features hidden, aside from her pointy ears. She wore a red dress that flowed out when it touched the ground. Her coat was red and had flowing sleeves. She wore red gloves, had red, wavy hair, a mask that obscured the face with a mirrored material that only she could see through, and a red Robin Hood hat. She seemed to glide towards the Autobots as the snow fell around her. Once she stopped, she turned her head upwards to the Autobots.

“It’s the Scarlet Specter!” whispered a 4 year old skunk girl. There was a small silence.

“Greetings, Autobots of Cybertron,” began the Scarlet Specter. Her voice was obviously altered by the mask. “I am the Scarlet Specter, one of Mobius’ many protectors. I have seen your fight with the Eggman robot. Your actions have proved that your generosity is genuine. I speak for all of Mobius when I say welcome to our planet!” The crowd cheered. “And to repay the generosity of G.U.N, Team Sonic, and the Autobots, I present a gift to each of you today,” revealed the Specter as she summoned a drawstring bag out of red smoke. She opened the bag to reveal a green jewel, a red jewel, and a cyan jewel.

“Chaos Emeralds?!” yelped Sonic.

“Those are Chaos Emeralds?” asked Optimus as he remembered the Autobots’ first meeting with Knuckles. “Only one of them looks like an emerald, the others aren’t even green!”

“That’s the very chaotic nature of these emeralds,” explained the Specter. Shadow and G.U.N got the green emerald, Team Sonic got the cyan emerald, and the Autobots got the red emerald. “Merry Christmas, my friends,” bid the Specter as a red mist surrounded her. It obscured her and she disappeared once it dissipated. The Autobots blinked.

“Who IS the Scarlet Specter?” asked Jazz.

“A witch that fights Eggman,” droned Omega. “Her magic abilities are unmatched.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” scoffed Ratchet. “Magic doesn’t exist.”

“Really?!” protested Optimus. “Then how did she disappear like that?! Come to think of it, my gun and axe are magic weapons!”

“What you call magic,” argued Ratchet, “I call unexplained science.”

“Sure,” sighed Optimus, not entirely believing it. He turned to the people of Mission Street. “In any case, Merry Christmas!” The people responded in kind and the Autobots went through the Warp Ring back to base. When they arrived, Optimus looked at the Chaos Emerald in his hand.

“What’s up?” asked Rouge.

“The Scarlet Specter,” muttered Optimus. “How did she manage to find three Chaos Emeralds when, from what Tails told me a while ago, you guys need to find one to get the other six?”

“Maybe we shouldn’t think too hard on it,” dismissed Rouge. Optimus stared, and then smirked.

“You’re right,” replied Optimus, “we shouldn’t stress ourselves.”

“Rouge, we’re leaving,” called Shadow in his usual growl. Alexis and Omega were already at the door.

“Coming, Shads honey!” said Rouge in a teasing tone. She followed Team Dark and Alexis to the door. Once they exited, Shadow thrust the emerald into the air.

“CHAOS CONTROL!” he shouted. The group disappeared in a flash of green light. The Autobots blinked.

“How in the Pit…?” asked Optimus.

“We’ll explain later,” replied Sonic. “For now, we have to go as well. Merry Christmas!” Team Sonic left the base, taking the cyan emerald with them. Optimus grinned.

“Well, Bots,” he called, “we’ve got more work on our plate. Knowing Eggman, he’s going after the Chaos Emeralds too.”

“A side quest, in other words,” sighed Cliffjumper.

“One that makes sense,” countered Ironhide. “If Eggman harnesses the power of all seven and applies it to his Transforming Robot soldiers…,”

“It would stand to reason that we’ll have an uphill fight on our hands,” finished Optimus. “Ratchet, I presume you did a scan of our emerald?”

“I did,” replied Ratchet. “And I found an energy signature inside. If what Tails told me is correct, all seven emeralds have that same signature. I should have an emerald locator done by New Year’s Eve.”

“Good work,” praised Optimus. He then looked at the time. “All right, it’s time for recharge. We’ll wake up tomorrow at 5:30. Merry Christmas, Autobots.” The other Autobots returned the wishes and headed to their quarters.

* * *

Meanwhile, a red mist hovered in a dance studio room. It was curling gently around the wall railings and caressed the mirrors before coming together to form the Scarlet Specter. “Rose?” asked a voice. The Specter turned to see two women in the mirror. One was a human with straight, brown hair, bangs covering her eyebrows, a ponytail near the top, a rose hair ornament on the right side of her hair with lace around it and a ribbon reaching to her waist, a black ball gown with white trim, a bodice of the same design, sleeves that didn’t connect to the dress and fanned out from its opening at the upper arm to the wrists, and a magic wand in her right hand. The other woman was Transformer sized, green skinned, and dressed in the stereotypical witch’s outfit, complete with hat.

“That’s me,” replied the Specter. She removed the hat, took the red colored wig off to reveal short pink quills adorned with a headband, and a removal of the mask revealed Amy Rose’s features.

“You don’t need to hide the fact you’re a witch around us,” chuckled the human, Sira, as she stepped through the mirror. The Transformer sized woman, a Nebulan named Trema, crawled after her. “No one’s going to tell on you, my student,” assured Sira.

“And what if the vision we’ve had doesn’t pan out in a positive light?” asked Amy.

“It will!” insisted Trema. “The Autobots will gladly accept a witch amongst their allies.”

“That’s if they are trusting of magically inclined people,” remarked Amy. “We’ve got the power needed, but if we delay…”

“Now, listen,” interrupted Sira, “the threat that comes to this planet will be made known to the Autobots, but Cybertron is sending an emissary to our planet to tell Optimus the truth of the matter.”

“I thought the Universal Council of Witches had given the Autobots their support,” replied Amy.

“For aiding them when needed, yes,” answered Trema. “The best way to do that, however, is to let Fate play things out!”

“And what about that journey Optimus will take?” asked Amy. Trema bit her lip.

“I don’t know,” she answered.

“Trema?” asked Sira.

“Some talk of revolution is spreading on Nebulos,” explained Trema. “I need to convince Zarak that what he’s planning is wrong. I’ll be gone for a month.”

“Will you be home in time for our Coven’s get together?” asked Amy.

“Of course!” assured Trema. “Oh, I almost forgot, I have your presents.”

“I brought presents for you two as well,” remembered Sira.

“Let me get yours from downstairs,” bid Amy as she ran out of the dance studio. She came back a few minutes later. “Who will go first?” she asked.

“Let me go first,” replied Sira. “Ms. Trema, I have a spell book for you. Ms. Rose, I believe it’s time for you to have your own wand.” She handed the items to the other two.

“Thank you, Sira!” called Amy.

“Wand Training will begin New Year’s Day,” declared Sira.

“All right!” cheered Amy. She then got out her gifts for the others. “Sira, I got you _Rachel Snoops, Book 7: Marriage and Manslaughter_ and Trema, I got that lilac bubble bath you wanted to try.”

“How sweet!” praised Trema.

“Thank you, Amy,” said Sira with a big grin on her face “This book is said to finally have the answers to the identity of Ms. Snoops’ nemesis!”

“Now then,” remarked Trema, “Sira, that silver tea chest you wanted is right here. Amy, I have a scrying orb for you.”

“You’re well on your way to learning the advanced sets!” chuckled Sira.

“Thank you, guys!” bid Amy. “I don’t know what I would have done without your help in my magic abilities.”

“You have potential to be a stronger witch than myself,” replied Sira. “We only provide the tools. The student needs to utilize them to the best of her abilities.”

“Yes, well, I hate to cut this visit short,” interjected Trema, “but I must return to Nebulos. Merry Christmas!” She went into the mirror again and faded into the mist in the mirror.

“I must go as well,” replied Sira. “Natalie will have a fit if I’m not at my manor during Christmas. Merry Christmas, Ms. Rose.”

“Merry Christmas, Ms. Mayworth,” bid Amy. Sira left the same way Trema did. Amy sighed in happiness. She then snapped her fingers, causing red mist to turn her Scarlet Specter dress into a ballerina’s outfit, with comfortable point shoes. She then decided to practice her routine to Christmas music. “Merry Christmas, everyone,” she thought as the snow fell gently around her house.


End file.
